Hwy. 97 traffic stop leads to chase, crash, arrest

A Southern California man who fled an Oregon State Police traffic stop on Highway 97 north of Bend early Tuesday led a trooper on a high-speed chase that was terminated after a couple of miles, troopers said. The driver eventually did a U-turn, heading south on the wrong side of the highway through Bend, and later crashed and ran, but was tracked down by a Bend police dog and his handler.

The trooper stopped a northbound Volvo at milepost 132 for unspecified traffic violations, but the driver, later identified as Robert Lloyd Fleetwood, 47, of San Bernardino, California, refused to present his driver’s license and insurance and was asked to step out of the car, OSP reported.

While the driver’s door was open, the trooper reached out to make contact with the driver, at which point he put the car in gear and drove away, troopers said.

The trooper followed the speeding car with lights and sirens activated, but turned off the lights after a couple of miles and backed off, advising other law enforcement of the car’s direction of travel.

The driver did a U-turn to head south, avoided spike strips put out by Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and traveled down the wrong side of Highway 97 and on the Bend Parkway, troopers said.

The car was spotted by police at milepost 151 and found to have crashed in the trees at Highway 97 and Vandevert Road, south of Sunriver.

Fleetwood and his dog ran from the crash scene, troopers said, but were tracked down by a Bend police dog and his handler about a half-mile away.

Fleetwood was checked by medics, then taken to the Deschutes County Jail, while his dog was taken to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, troopers said. The car was seized and towed.

Fleetwood was being held on $55,000 bail, facing charges of attempting to elude police by vehicle and on foot, resisting arrest, reckless driving, recklessly endangering and failure to carry/present proof of a license.