Former Prineville Police dispatcher arrested in fatal DUI crash that killed bicyclist
Editor's Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism Project
By: Justin Alderman
Prineville, Ore. — A former Prineville Police dispatcher was arrested in a fatal crash that killed a bicyclist late Friday night in Prineville, according to jail and other publicly available records.
The crash occurred at approximately 10:59 p.m. last night (April 24th) on NE Combs Flat Road, according to a press release from the Prineville Police Department. Officers with the Prineville Police Department were the first to arrive to find a bicyclist suffering from critical injuries; the individual was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the driver of the involved vehicle was identified and taken into custody, and that alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.
The Oregon State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene and has assumed primary responsibility for the investigation. It is standard practice for OSP to take over fatal crash investigations, particularly when specialized reconstruction is required or when potential conflicts of interest may exist.
Using records from the Crook County Jail and other sources, the Prineville Review identified the suspect as 36-year-old Abigail Marie Hedges. Jail records show Hedges is charged with one count of driving under the influence of intoxicants and one count of felony criminally negligent homicide.
Sources who contacted our news partners at KTVZ News provided the first tips that led to the discovery that the suspect had been employed by the Prineville Police as a dispatcher.
When reached Saturday afternoon, a sergeant with the Prineville Police Department directed all questions about the investigation to the Oregon State Police. When asked whether Hedges is employed with the department, the sergeant said, “I can neither confirm nor deny that.”
The Prineville Review then confirmed, through publicly available records obtained from Oregon’s Department of Public Safety Standards & Training (DPSST), that Hedges was employed as a 911 dispatcher with the Prineville Police Department between April 1st and November 4th, 2025, indicating she had a probationary discharge.
Her hiring was also announced during a public city council meeting in late March of that year.
Following initial publication and our earlier reporting that it could not yet be confirmed if Hedges remained employed in a non-dispatcher capacity, Prineville Police’s Interim Chief Shane Wilson confirmed to the Prineville Review that Hedges was no longer employed by the City of Prineville or the Prineville Police Department.
“She [Hedges] is not employed with the Prineville Police Department or City of Prineville. The dates reflected [by] DPSST are accurate as to the dates of employment,” said Wilson.
The press release posting made on Facebook by Prineville Police had also disabled public comments on the post, while nearly all other posts on its Facebook page, including other past media releases related to crimes under investigation, remained available for public comment.
Officials with the Oregon State Police have also not yet responded to requests for comment. We will update the story with any additional information if we hear back.
The Prineville Police Department said the investigation remains active and extended condolences to the victim’s family. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Oregon State Police.
Note: This story was updated shortly following initial publication to include a response by the city.
