01/09/2007 - THE DALLES, Ore.

Associated Press

A city councilman from Idaho went missing after stopping to help at the scene of a traffic accident, and the authorities say he may have fallen or jumped into the John Day River to avoid a second accident.

John Dickinson, 62, of Moscow stopped his vehicle Sunday night behind a car that had crashed after swerving to avoid debris on an Interstate 84 bridge east of The Dalles, the Oregon State Police said.

Dickinson got out of his car, which another motorist then struck from behind. Dickinson couldn't be found at the scene, and state troopers said he may have fallen off the bridge or jumped the concrete railing, which is 3 1/2 feet high.

Search crews on Monday failed to find Dickinson, who was recently named president of the Moscow City Council. The river is more than 80 feet deep in the area of the crash and the surface water temperature is about 40 degrees, police said.

Two other people involved in the accident suffered minor injuries.

If Dickinson did jump over the guardrail, it would be the second such incident on Interstate 84 in less than two weeks. On Dec. 29, Brian Bernier, 37, of Vancouver, Wash., stopped to help a crash victim about five miles east of Multnomah Falls. A passing truck forced him over the guardrail, where there was a 50-foot drop, according to an Oregon State Police report. Bernier died at the scene.