Ariz. man leaving festival jailed after police chase, crash

An Arizona man headed home from the Symbiosis musical festival “aggressively passed” two police cars in a “police-style vehicle” on a winding forest road northeast of Prineville early Tuesday morning, triggering a brief chase that ended when he crashed into a tree and was arrested on charges including cocaine possession, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said.

The incident began around 1:30 a.m. about 30 miles northeast of Prineville when a white 2009 Ford Crown Victoria equipped with a spotlight and police-style “push bumper” passed a Crook County sheriff’s deputy and Prineville police officer in their patrol cars heading south on Forest Service Road 42, Undersheriff James Savage said.

The driver, later identified as Randon Carl Reid, 32, of Phoenix, passed the patrol cars on a double yellow line on a blind corner, Savage said. The two officers tried to pull over the aggressive driver, but the car sped south and both patrol cars followed, their emergency lights activated, Savage said.

“This area of Forest Service Road 42 is very narrow and has several sharp corners,” Savage said in a news release.

After being followed for about a half-mile, Reid lost control of his car and crashed into a tree off the west side of the road, the undersheriff said. The car came to rest against a tree that kept it from traveling down a steep embankment.

The deputy and officer took Reid into custody without incident. Savage said Reid was unhurt in the crash but was taken to St. Charles Prineville by sheriff’s deputies for evaluation.

After being cleared by the hospital, Reid was taken to the Crook County Jail and booked on charges of attempting to elude police, reckless driving, cocaine possession and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance (prescription medication he had no prescription for), Savage said. He was being held on $50,000 bail.