Bend police find, arrest DUII crash driver

Police found no one at the scene of a rollover SUV crash on NW Galveston Avenue early Friday morning, but said witnesses and evidence led them to arrest the driver at a nearby home on DUII and other charges.

Officers responded shortly after 2 a.m. to Galveston near NW 14 th Street on the reported crash – and reports a man was seen running from the area, said Sgt. Tom Pine. Officers arrived to find the SUV on its side in the road, unoccupied.

Witness statements and evidence on the scene helped police find the alleged driver, Eric Reid Thompson, 20, of Bend, at a nearby home, Pine said.

Thompson was treated by Bend fire medics for minor injuries from the crash, then taken to the Deschutes County Jail and held on charges of DUII (alcohol), reckless endangering and failure to perform the duties of a driver. He later was released to a responsible third party, jail officers said.

Further investigation found Thompson had a passenger at the time of the crash, who was not injured, Pine said.