Fatal Crash - Highway 281 - Hood River County - 10/17/25

Hood River County, Ore. (Oct 17, 2025)- On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 9:23 p.m., Oregon State Police responded to a three-vehicle crash on Highway 281, near milepost 7, in Hood River County. 

The preliminary investigation indicated a soutbbound Subaru Impreza, operated by Pedro Jonathan Flores-Flores (26) of Hood River, attempted to pass a southbound Toyota Corolla, operated by Jesus Esquivel Martinez (38) of Hood River, in a no passing zone and struck a northbound Honda VT750 motorcycle, operated by Phillip Mickey Himes (37) of Hood River, head-on.

The operator of the Honda (Himes) was declared deceased at the scene.

The operator of the Toyota (Esquivel Martinez) was reportedly uninjured.

The operator of the Subaru (Flores-Flores) was reportedly uninjured and was arrested for DUII, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering X2, and Manslaughter 1.

The highway was impacted for approximately five hours during the on-scene investigation. The crash is under investigation.

OSP was assisted by the Hood River County Sheriff's Office, Hood River Police Department, Wyeast Fire, and ODOT.

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About the Oregon State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) 
The Oregon State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) is a specialized unit responsible for investigating fatal and critical injury collisions on Oregon’s highways. The team provides expertise in the documentation, investigation, and analysis of complex motor vehicle crashes and crime scenes. They receive specialized training in the use of advanced measuring techniques and small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for on-scene investigations. The CRU team includes ACTAR accredited collision reconstructionists and technical collision investigators deployed across the state.