Driver walks away from Dooley Mountain crash

Published 1:39 pm Tuesday, September 6, 2022

A Harney County man whose pickup plunged off the Dooley Mountain Highway in the middle of the night was able to walk 300 feet up a steep ravine and then walk along the highway for about four hours.

Joel Daniel Otley, 23, was driving south on the highway early Sunday morning, Sept. 4.

The incident happened around 3 a.m., according to a report from Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Edward Mercado.

Otley, who is from Princeton, southeast of Burns, fell asleep while driving, according to Mercado’s report.

The Dodge 250 pickup truck Otley was driving crossed both lanes and went down a steep ravine for about 300 feet. The site is near Milepost 27, about 2 miles south of Dooley Summit.

According to Mercado’s report, the pickup was upright when it stopped, and Otley climbed up the ravine to the highway. He then walked south on the highway, toward Bridgeport, until his employer found him around 7 a.m.

Otley’s employer, who lives in Baker City, drove Otley to Baker City, where Mercado interviewed him. Otley was then taken to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City. Otley was no longer a patient on Tuesday, Sept. 6, according to a hospital spokesman.