Bend man jailed on DUII, other charges after early-morning crash into pergola outside courthouse

30-year-old was taken to hospital, then jail

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend man speeding through downtown at about 70 mph early Monday morning ran flashing red lights, struck an object and went airborne, with his car crashing into the steel pergola outside the Deschutes County Courthouse, police said. He was arrested on DUII and other charges.

Around 1:45 a.m., a Bend officer on patrol near the intersection of Northwest Bond Street and Franklin Avenue saw a black Dodge Challenger heading west on Franklin without stopping at the flashing red light, then sped north on Bond Street, police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said Tuesday.

The officer tried to get behind the car to pull the driver over for a traffic violation, but the 30-year-old man was going about 70 mph in a 20 mph zone, so “the officer determined it was unsafe to pursue the vehicle,” Miller said in a news release.

The driver also ran the flashing red light at the corner of Bond Street and Oregon Avenue, then continued north along Bond Street through the Greenwood Avenue intersection “before hitting something and going airborne,” Miller said. The car then struck the pergola outside the courthouse on Bond Street.

The driver got out of the car and after an investigation and field sobriety tests was taken into custody and brought to St. Charles Bend for a medical evaluation. He then was lodged at the county jail on charges of DUII, reckless driving and first-degree criminal mischief.

Miller said the driver was arrested on suspicion of DUII involving both alcohol and drugs, with the results of a drug draw pending.