Bend Parkway pursuit ends in DUII driving arrest

Citizen reports of an erratic, reckless driver on Highway 97 south of Bend Sunday afternoon led to an attempted traffic stop on the Bend Parkway, a brief pursuit and arrest of a 62-year-old Bend man on drunken driving and other charges, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deschutes County 911 dispatchers began receiving reports around 3 p.m. about a white Isuzu Trooper being driven erratically, making unsafe passes and driving into oncoming traffic on the highway south of Bend, sheriff’s Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp said.

Deputies began searching for the SUV and it was spotted driving north on the Bend Parkway at Powers Road. A deputy witnessed similar dangerous driving as reported by citizens and tried to pull over the driver, later identified as Alfred Lamonte Florence, but he sped away and briefly refused to stop, Vander Kamp said.

The deputy pursued the Isuzu until Florence came to a stop just north of the Colorado Avenue on-ramp.

Florence was taken to the county jail and booked on charges of DUII-alcohol, a felony charge of attempting to elude police, reckless driving and recklessly endangering. Initial bail was set at $25,000.

Northbound Bend Parkway traffic was briefly delayed during Florence’s arrest and the investigation, Vander Kamp said. Sheriff’s deputies were assisted by Bend police and the ODOT Incident Response Team.