Lane County Sheriff’s deputies under contract to Creswell responded to 50 calls March 22-28, and two separate Creswell deputies were also involved in pursuits the final weekend of March that occurred outside of the city limits, Sgt. Scott Denham said.
Both situations began with traffic stops that were initiated by the deputies while traveling to and from LCSO’s main office back to Creswell in the areas of I-105 and I-5. In each case the vehicle fled in an attempt to elude.
In one, Deputy Luke Thomas’ pursuit ended at 42nd Street in Springfield when the driver finally surrendered. She went to jail.
The driver, 32, faces felony driving while suspended, felony DUII and other charges, the LCSO said.
In the second, the driver fled at high speeds into the Gateway area of Springfield and Deputy Dylan Lemieux ended the pursuit because of safety.
The vehicle was found after the passengers fled. The car was a fraudulently purchased Tesla out of Portland that had a stolen firearm in it.
“These are intense calls, but also create a lot of reports, including the one arrested since the investigation led to the use of a drug recognition expert to establish DUII,” he said.
Thomas also was involved in a pursuit that began with a traffic stop at Sears and Cloverdale. It ended on Row River Rd. when the vehicle crashed into a tree. Driver went to jail.
