Redmond driver crashes into canal, arrested for DUII

Redmond police tried to stop a reckless driver on a stretch of Canal Boulevard closed for construction late Saturday night and saw him hit a phone pole and parked water truck, but he sped off, they said. He soon crashed his pickup truck into a running irrigation canal, prompting his rescue and arrest on DUII and other charges.

Shortly after 11 p.m., officers saw the 2006 Dodge pickup truck being driven recklessly near the intersection of Southwest Pumice Avenue and Canal Boulevard, Lt. Eric Beckwith said in a news release Sunday.

Officers saw the pickup, whose driver was later identified as Anthony Castaneda, 34, of Redmond, strike the phone pole and water truck on a stretch of Canal Boulevard that is closed for reconstruction, Beckwith said. He also was driving “dangerously close” to a group of juveniles walking in the area, he added.

Police walked into the area, since access to the street is heavily barricaded, and tried to contact the driver, who immediately sped off, Beckwith said.

A few minutes later, the truck was found crashed into the running Central Oregon Irrigation District canal near the corner of Reindeer Avenue and Canal Boulevard.

Officers got closer and found Castaneda still trying to drive, despite his truck being partly submerged in the frigid water amid subfreezing temperatures, Beckwith said.

Redmond Fire & Rescue personnel responded to the scene and conducted a water rescue to remove Castaneda, who was evaluated by medics. He was taken into custody and brought to the Deschutes County Jail on charges of DUII-alcohol, recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving and criminal mischief.

A corrections officer said Castaneda was booked into the jail shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday and was released about an hour later to a responsible third party.

Meanwhile, it took several hours and resources to safely remove the pickup from the canal, as COID staff responded to oversee its removal from their property, Beckwith said. The state Department of Environmental Quality was notified and is investigating to learn how many pollutants may have entered the water.

“The Redmond Police Department would like to applaud the efforts of Redmond Fire & Rescue personnel in making sure Castaneda did not become hurt, injured or killed, given the weather conditions and danger associated with the vehicle crashing into the waterway,” Beckwith wrote in a news release.

The lieutenant noted that Redmond police arrested 13 drivers for DUII in September and have arrested more than 116 DUII drivers so far this year,