Wild Bend stolen-car chase leads to 2 crashes, arrest

An attempt to pull over a drunk driving suspect in northeast Bend turned into a brief high-speed pursuit of a stolen car early Wednesday. Police stopped that chase over safety concerns, but the car was spotted again two hours later and a second pursuit led to two spike-strip deployments, two crashes, a chase on foot and the arrest of a Eugene transient.

Around midnight, a green 2000 Subaru Legacy was seen committing several traffic violations near Northeast Third Street and Mt. Washington Drive, said Bend police Sgt. Adam Juhnke. Officers observed “increasingly erratic driving” and suspected the driver might be drunk, he said.

Officers said that as they tried to stop the car, the driver, later identified as Ervin Darrell Osman, 36, took off south on Third Street at speeds estimated at over 90 mph. Police also learned the car, with Colorado plates, had been listed as stolen out of Eugene earlier in the week.

“Due to the concern for citizens on the roadways, the pursuit was quickly terminated,” Juhnke said.

Around 2:20 a.m., a Bend officer found the stolen car on the road near Northwest Ninth Street and Newport Avenue, the sergeant said.

The car headed east onto Northeast Olney Avenue toward Third Street and the officer tried to stop it, but the driver again took off on Third Street.

Officers began a pursuit and requested help from Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and Oregon State Police.

Spike strips were put down and successfully deployed on the car on Highway 20 west, near the sheriff’s office, Juhnke said. But the driver continued heading north toward Tumalo, eventually losing control and striking a highway guardrail near the Deschutes River.

The crash caused the driver to stop temporarily, but Osman then fled back toward Bend – and an officer successfully deployed spike strips a second time, causing the car to spin out and stop in the northbound lanes near the sheriff’s office, Juhnke said.

Osman, who was alone in the car, then got out and ran east, through the Cascade Village Shopping Center parking lot, and was taken into custody without further incident in front of Food 4 Less, police said.

No one was injured in the incident, officers said.

Osman was booked into the Deschutes County jail and held on $85,000 bail, facing two counts each of felony attempt to elude, second-degree criminal trespass and reckless driving, as well as single counts of DUII, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, hit and run (property damage), first-degree criminal mischief and meth possession. Initial bail totaled $85,000.

More charges could be added as the investigation continues, Juhnke said. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Bend police through dispatchers at 541-693-6911.