Bend driver without headlights jumps from moving car, arrested; drugs found

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – When police tried to pull him over, a driver without headlights bailed out of his moving car and into the brush on Bend’s north end Tuesday night, leading to his arrest and a search of his car that found methamphetamine, police said.

Officers saw the white Honda Civic heading south on North Highway 97 without headlights on, Sgt. Wes Murphy said. The driver, later identified as a 23-year-old Bend man, pulled into The Riverhouse parking lot and kept driving toward the west end of the parking lot.

When he was about 20 yards from the end of the parking lot, the driver jumped out of the moving car, did a somersault and ran into the brush, Murphy said. The car kept rolling at about 25 mph until he went into the landscaping, struck a small tree and stopped.

The officer quickly found the man in a blackberry patch and he was taken into custody. Bend Fire & Rescue medics treated him at the scene for minor injuries, Murphy said.

The driver gave officers consent to search the car. With the help of Officer Robert Pennock and his K-9 partner, Ladybug, officers found meth, drug paraphernalia and packaging.

The man was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and lodged on charges including meth possession and delivery, felony and misdemeanor fleeing or attempting to elude police, reckless driving, reckless endangering and an outstanding warrant on a parole violation for second-degree assault and meth possession, Murphy said.

The car was impounded, as the driver did not have liability insurance, the sergeant added.