A 77-year-old man died and an Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance worker was critically injured Tuesday afternoon after a driver slammed into a parked ODOT truck and two people standing on the shoulder of westbound Interstate 84 near Arlington. Oregon State Police say the crash unfolded after the driver had already stopped to help a stranded motorist fix a flat tire.
According to OregonDOT, the deceased driver was identified by Oregon State Police as James Thomas Raugust of Ocean Shores, Washington, a retired dentist who had pulled his red Land Rover LR4, which was towing an Airstream trailer, onto the right shoulder because of a flat tire, according to an Oregon State Police investigation report published via FlashAlert. His 80-year-old passenger, Melodie Marie Raugust, also of Ocean Shores, sustained minor injuries in the crash, per the same report.
The ODOT employee who stopped to help, identified by Oregon State Police as Roger Vincent Birkeland of Arlington, worked out of the Arlington maintenance station and had parked his white Ford F550 maintenance truck on the shoulder behind the disabled Land Rover, activating the truck's amber warning lights and reader board to direct approaching traffic into the far lane, OregonDOT said. Birkeland was life-flighted by helicopter to a regional trauma center after the crash, the FlashAlert report notes.
Westbound Toyota Struck the ODOT Truck From Behind
Oregon State Police identified the driver who caused the collision as 48-year-old Burke Lloyd Oneal of Vancouver, Washington, who was driving a westbound white Toyota Highlander when he struck the rear of the ODOT truck before losing control and hitting both Raugust and Birkeland on the shoulder, per the FlashAlert release. Oneal sustained only minor injuries in the crash, according to the same investigation report.
The crash happened around 2:43 p.m. Tuesday near milepost 123 on westbound I-84 in Gilliam County, about 14 miles west of Arlington, closing or delaying freeway traffic for three to five hours while OSP's Collision Reconstruction Unit investigated, per the FlashAlert report. The stretch is a critical link on northern Oregon's main east-west freight corridor. Oregon State Police handled the crash investigation, per OregonDOT.
ODOT Officials Renew Push for Move Over Compliance
ODOT's Dan Shanahan said there is no excuse for not slowing down and paying attention when people are along the highway, according to OregonDOT. He added that what happened Tuesday is devastating and that lives have been forever changed, per the same statement. ODOT's Ben Ebner said work zone safety concerns everyone on the road, OregonDOT reported.
Oregon's Move Over law requires drivers to shift lanes when approaching a stopped vehicle displaying flashing or hazard lights if it is safe to do so, or otherwise slow down, according to OregonDOT. Under Oregon Revised Statutes 811.147, failing to move over or slow down for a stopped vehicle with hazard lights is a Class B traffic violation carrying a standard fine of $265, a penalty that jumps to $525 in a designated work zone, safety corridor, or school zone, according to AAA Oregon/Idaho. If a lane change is not safe on a multi-lane highway, or if a driver is on a two-lane road, the law requires reducing speed to at least 5 mph below the posted limit, AAA Oregon/Idaho notes.
Oregon's Move Over law was originally passed in 2010 to protect emergency vehicles, tow trucks, and road crews, and the legislature expanded it in 2017 to cover all stopped private vehicles displaying hazard lights or emergency flares, per AAA Oregon/Idaho. Nationally, AAA and federal data show roughly 24 emergency responders and roadside workers are killed annually, and nearly a quarter of drivers surveyed said they were unaware their state even has a Move Over law.
A Pattern of Close Calls Along I-84
Distracted driving remains a leading cause of work zone crashes, and OregonDOT is urging drivers to slow down if they cannot move over safely, safely change lanes when they see road workers, and remember that a work zone includes anywhere crews are working along the road. The agency's data shows Oregon work zone crashes reached a five-year high in 2024, totaling 621 crashes that claimed 14 lives and caused 36 serious injuries affecting drivers or their passengers.
Tuesday's fatality is not an isolated incident on this corridor. Less than a month earlier, on July 16, a driver breached a closed work zone on eastbound I-84 near Hood River and struck two ODOT maintenance workers, an incident that led to felony reckless endangerment charges.
OregonDOT points drivers to TripCheck.com for real-time road conditions, traffic camera views, and weather information as a resource for planning safer trips. News release inquiries were directed to ODOT spokesperson Katherine Benenati. It remains an open question whether Oregon State Police investigators will file formal criminal charges against Oneal once their full crash reconstruction is complete.
