La Pine man held in wild DUII hit-and-run, chase

A 22-year-old La Pine man was arrested on DUII, felony hit-and-run and other charges Friday evening after he sped away from a rear-end crash on Highway 97 with three younger siblings inside, all of whom jumped or got out of the car before it crashed, Oregon State Police said.

Despite all of that, no injuries were reported to the driver or children, said OSP Lt. Gregg Hastings.

Around 6:50 p.m., an OSP senior trooper was outside his patrol car, helping Halloween traffic crossing the road on Highway 97 at First Street, Hastings said.

An SUV had come to a stop when it was hit from behind by a 1998 Chrysler Sebring going about 25 mph, he said.

After the collision, the trooper reported hearing a girl inside the car yell out an open window for the driver to stop because she wanted out.

But the driver, later identified as Tylor Brenton Bates, instead put the car in reverse, spinning the tires as he sped away from the scene, Hastings said.

The trooper got into his patrol car and tried to overtake and stop the fleeing driver. As the Chrysler turned west onto First Street, a small boy was seen rolling across the roadway, and several citizens ran to help him, Hastings said.

Bates’ car then turned north on Huntington Road, speeding recklessly through a red light, Hastings said. He then turned east on Burgess Road, passing cars at high speed on both sides of the road.

As the car turned north onto Skidgel Road, Bates lost control and the car left the road, going into a ditch, through a couple fences and striking a tree, where it came to rest, the lieutenant said.

Bates was taken into custody without further incident, Hastings said.

The trooper found the driver’s 11-year-old sister holding a dog, about 25 feet from the car, among trees where she said she ran to get away from her older brother. Hastings said an investigation found that Bates had punched the girl in the face while driving, before the earlier hit-and-run crash. She got out after the car stopped.

The boy who was seen rolling across the road as the car fled the first crash scene was identified as the driver’s 14-year-old brother, who had jumped from the moving car. Another brother, 9, also was found unhurt after the trooper learned he also got out of the moving car as the driver fled the first crash, Hastings said.

Bates was held on $40,000 bail on Saturday at the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, facing charges that included DUII, reckless driving, felony hit and run, felony attempt to elude in a vehicle, five counts of recklessly endangering another person, fourth-degree assault and second-degree criminal mischief.