Marion County deputy, other driver injured in head-on crash into patrol car

govLights and sirens going; police say driver was passing those yielding

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Marion County sheriff’s deputy escaped serious injury Saturday night when his patrol car, with lights and siren going, was struck head-on by a driver who pulled into his lane to pass others yielding to the deputy, Salem police said.

Police were called out just after 9 p.m. to investigate the head-on crash just outside the city limits, on Cordon Road NE near Ward Drive NE.

Both Deputy Brice Mintz, a 13-year law enforcement veteran, and the other driver, a 40-year-old Salem woman, were taken by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, deputies said.

Investigating officers learned the deputy was driving on Cordon Road with lights and siren on when struck head-on by a 40-year-old Salem woman’s Hyundai Elantra. Police said her car pulled into the deputy’s lane to pass vehicles yielding to the emergency vehicle.

Mintz was treated at the hospital and released.

The other driver initially was cited for driving with a suspended license, though the investigation is ongoing, police said.