Man dies in overpass jump

The Dalles Police Detective Austin Ell said nobody was with Woody on the overpass. A passing semi-trailer swerved to avoid him as he jumped, Ell said. It occurred just before 3 p.m.­

“He actually saw Woody standing up above on the overpass,” Ell said. “Woody made eye contact with the driver and the driver described a motion as Woody leaped from the overpass onto the truck.”

“According to the driver, he saw the truck approaching and that’s when he jumped,” Ell said. Because the driver swerved, there was not full contact with the trailer, Ell said. The semi was pulling a single trailer.

Responding medics pronounced Woody dead at the scene.

No other vehicles were involved. “That was one of the driver’s main concerns,” Ell said. “He swerved, but he could only go so far because he didn’t want to hit any of the other cars.”

The Dalles Police Chief Patrick Ashmore said, “I felt so bad for the truck driver. He was devastated. He literally slid to where he parked. You could see the skid marks all the way to where he parked.”

The driver was traveling from Salem on his way to Spokane.

He spoke to a chaplain at the scene, Ell said. He drove to the next exit and was going to contact some friends and take a rest before he decided what to do next, he said.

Eastbound traffic was closed for about 30 minutes and rerouted over the overpass, Ell said.

Ell said a person was contemplating suicide a few months ago at Exit 82, but police were able to talk them down.

Last summer, a man tried to throw himself off the Exit 84 overpass, but was wrestled to safety by two passersby.