UMATILLA COUNTY, OR - The Oregon State Police (OSP) is reporting that on Sunday, January 8, 2023, at approximately 4:37 P.M., the OSP responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian crash in the median of Interstate 84, near milepost 199, in Umatilla County.
The preliminary investigation indicated an eastbound Ford Ranger rolled over in the median of Interstate 84, near milepost 199. A westbound motorist stopped to render assistance to the occupants involved in the rollover crash and was walking in the median towards the rolled vehicle. A 2016 Ford Explorer, operated by Lloyd Lawrence Barkley (66) of Pendleton, was traveling westbound when the vehicle began to hydroplane on the wet road surface. The driver lost control of the Explorer and slid into the median where it struck and killed the pedestrian, Kenneth Dale Strong (65) of Richland (WA), who was walking towards the original rolled vehicle. The pedestrian, Strong, was declared deceased at the scene. OSP was assisted by the Pendleton Fire Department and ODOT.