Nampa man jailed after fleeing I-84 crash that injured child in Baker County
A 7-year-old was hurt in an I-84 wreck near Milepost 318, and troopers later tracked the vehicle 37 miles before arresting the driver.
A Nampa man is in Baker County Jail after investigators say he left the scene of an Interstate 84 crash that injured his 7-year-old child passenger near Milepost 318.
Oregon State Police said the single-vehicle wreck happened about 1:42 a.m. Saturday, April 25, on the eastbound side of I-84 in Baker County. Troopers later found the vehicle near Milepost 355, about 37 miles from the original crash site, after it kept moving eastbound before law enforcement arrived. That stretch of highway runs through a long, sparsely populated part of eastern Oregon, where a crash can quickly become both a medical emergency and a law-enforcement search.
The driver was identified as Brandon Wyatt Real, 28, of Nampa, Idaho. The Baker County District Attorney’s Office charged him with one count of failing to perform the duties of a driver in an injury crash, a Class C felony, along with reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. Real was arrested after a trooper stopped the vehicle, then transported to the hospital for evaluation before being lodged in Baker County Jail.
The child passenger was treated by medics for minor injuries and released to his mother. Even though the injuries were not severe, the case underscores how quickly a one-car crash can turn into a child-safety and accountability case when a driver does not stop and render aid.
Real was scheduled for arraignment Monday, April 27, at 1:15 p.m. in Baker County Circuit Court. The case also highlights the role of Oregon State Police on rural interstate corridors, where a driver who leaves a crash scene can force troopers to track a vehicle miles beyond the wreck itself and pull in additional resources.
Oregon State Police says its Collision Reconstruction Unit investigates fatal and critical injury collisions on Oregon highways. In a county that sees families, freight traffic and travelers moving through on I-84 every day, even a single-vehicle crash can trigger a major response when a child is hurt and the driver keeps going.
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