PD: Bend man high on mushrooms jailed in hit-and-run crashes
A Bend man apparently high on psilocybin mushrooms smashed his pickup into two vehicles and through a fence around construction equipment in the Old Mill District Wednesday afternoon, police said. He then allegedly ran, tried to hide in two vehicles and stole a bike before his arrest on DUII, hit-and-run and other charges.
Officers were dispatched shortly before 2:30 p.m. on reports of a hit-and-run crash on Southwest Wilson Avenue just east of Bond Street, Sgt. Todd Fletcher said. Several callers reported a red pickup truck rear-ending a blue 2003 Honda CRV, then fleeing.
As officers responded, Deschutes County 911 dispatchers received more calls, reporting a second hit-and-run crash on Upper Terrace Drive near Bond Street with a similar suspect vehicle hitting a black GMC Denali.
Officers found the suspect vehicle, a red 1993 Toyota pickup that had been abandoned by the driver, identified as Darren Robert Graybehl, 32, after it had gone off the road and through a fence, into an area of construction equipment owned by Hooker Creek Companies, Fletcher said.
Officers said the pickup crashed through Hooker Creek’s fence and came to rest against a large piece of construction equipment, causing minor damage to it. The pickup was heavily damaged.
While fleeing the scene, Graybehl illegally entered two other vehicles in an attempt to hide from officers before stealing a bicycle and using it to try to escape, the sergeant said.
Graybehl was arrested a short time later and taken to the Deschutes County Jail. Fletcher said mushrooms were seized. He added that no one was seriously hurt in the hit-and-run crashes.
Graybehl was being held on $110,000 bail, charged with DUII-drugs, three counts of hit and run (property damage), seven counts of reckless endangering, four counts of reckless driving, three counts of second-degree criminal mischief, second-degree theft, two counts of unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and possession of controlled substances.
