Hwy. 20 pursuit ends in arrest

Oregon State Police arrested a 31-year-old Eugene man on multiple charges on Monday, August 5, after a pursuit on Highway 20.

According to an OSP report, at about 3:40 p.m., an OSP trooper reported a reckless driver on the east side of the Santiam Pass on Highway 20, traveling eastbound. He was unable to catch up to and stop the recklessly driven vehicle, which was picked up a short time later by another OSP officer as it was approaching Sisters.

There was a short pursuit, which was terminated. The vehicle was located in Sisters following a head-on crash. The driver, identified as Troy Brandon Harris, fled the scene and was later apprehended without incident. The driver was lodged at the Deschutes County Jail on numerous charges, including assault; DUII; reckless driving; unlawful possession of a firearm; and attempting to elude an officer. Identity theft charges were referred to the District Attorney for consideration.

The vehicles were towed from the scene by Davis Towing and DCSO is assisting OSP with the crash report.

Ann Marland, who lives in The Pines adjacent to the spot where the vehicle crashed, said that she was sitting in her living room working on her computer when she heard a tremendous crash and went outside to investigate. She saw the Sisters woman’s vehicle in the street and the suspect vehicle in the fence at The Pines.

“I mean, he demolished that piece of fence, and it was, oh, maybe six feet from going into (a neighbor’s) house.”

She did not see Harris, who had already fled the scene on foot, but she noted that other residents did see him and were later able to identify him for law enforcement.

Marland said that multiple law enforcement units arrived on scene very quickly and officers moved through the gated community on foot searching for the

suspect.

“After a while, they (officers) came back and said they’d found him” Marland said. “It was scary that he was loose in a compound (gated neighborhood).”