Aurora man charged in DUII wrong-way drive on Bend Parkway
An 80-year-old Aurora man was charged with drunk and reckless driving early Sunday after driving the wrong way on the Bend Parkway through town, nearly hitting several cars, until spike strips stopped his van, Oregon State Police said.
A trooper spotted Henry Dale Blackwell’s silver Dodge Caravan heading south in the northbound lanes shortly after midnight, troopers said.
The trooper who pursued Blackwell’s van said it nearly collided with several vehicles, including a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office patrol car.
Unable to get ahead of the van to stop it, the trooper deployed spike strips at Reed Market Road, flattening two tires, and the van came to a stop near Powers Road, where deputies and Bend police were waiting.
Blackwell was taken into custody without further incident, OSP said. He provided a breath sample at the Bend OSP office that registered a .10 blood-alcohol content, above the .08 legal limit for Oregon.
Blackwell was cited on charges of DUII-alcohol, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person, OSP said. He was then released to a responsible third party.
American Towing was called out to remove the van, troopers said.
Less then a month ago, a speeding, wrong-way driver on the Bend Parkway slammed into a sheriff’s sergeant’s patrol car late one night, sending the sergeant to the hospital with minor injuries and Robert Michael Hughes, 59, of Bend, to jail on charges of DUII, reckless driving, third-degree assault and reckless driving.
