Reckless Driving/Shooting, July 26

On Monday, July 23rd at approximately 1:10PM, an Oregon State Police Trooper from The Dalles stopped a reported reckless driver eastbound on I-84 near milepost 103 in Sherman County.  After stopping, the 42 year old male driver exited the vehicle armed with a handgun.  The Trooper asked the driver to drop the gun.  The driver continued to walk to the rear of his vehicle and shot himself in the head.  The driver collapsed in the ditch and out of sight.  The Trooper held cover over the subject until his backup officers arrived.  They then approached the subject and rendered medical care.  The driver was transported to the hospital in The Dalles and eventually flown by air ambulance to a Portland area hospital, where he continues to receive medical care.  His condition is unknown. The eastbound traffic was closed for approximately 40 minutes, while the scene was rendered safe and continued to be restricted to a single lane for another two hours while the investigation was conducted at the scene.  No additional information is planned to be released regarding this incident.