DCSO: Bend transient attacked ride-share driver, 77, stole car, drove it over Santiam Pass, crashed and tried to steal 2nd car

(Update: Adding video, comments by motel manager who helped driver)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend transient who used a ride-share service to travel from the Deschutes County Stabilization Center to Sisters early Friday morning then assaulted the 77-year-old driver and stole his car, driving it over Santiam Pass to Lane County, where he crashed, tried to steal another car but was struck and arrested, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched shortly before 3 a.m. to the reported assault and theft of a vehicle in Sisters, Sergeant Jason Wall said. County 911 dispatchers said a 21-year-old man had assaulted a ride-share driver and stole his vehicle.

Investigators determined the suspect, identified as Joshua Davis Buck, was at the Stabilization Center and requested a ride-share to Sisters, which the facility ordered. Once in Sisters, Buck asked the driver, a 77-year-old Redmond man, to be dropped off near the Sisters Inn and Suites, Wall said.

When the car came to a stop, the driver was assaulted and seriously injured “and dragged out of the vehicle” by the assailant, the sergeant said.

Buck allegedly stole the vehicle and headed west on Highway 20 toward Santiam Pass. Wall said deputies were able to determine the vehicle’s location as Buck continued west on state Highway 126 toward Vida.

The ride-share driver was seriously injured and was taken to St. Charles Bend, the sergeant said.

Kadyi Magian, the manager at the Sisters Inn & Suites, said she was able to help care for the injured driver until deputies arrived.

“I first let them in and he said, 'You need to sit down.'" she recalled. "So he sat down right there, and we were on the phone with the lady who - she was asking him questions to figure out how better to help him out.

"I'm very glad I was able to help out, and that he's OK,” Magian said.

Deschutes County dispatchers, meanwhile, notified law enforcement agencies in the areas the stolen vehicle was traveling, Wall said.

Around 4 a.m., they learned the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Springfield Police were en route to a multi-vehicle injury crash near Vida.

Lane County deputies found Buck at the crash site, “where he was actively attempting to steal a second vehicle from the crash scene,” Wall said in a news release.

“The driver of that vehicle was able to speed away, striking (the suspect) in the process,” he added.

It was determined that Buck had crashed the stolen ride-share car “and was actively attempting to steal a second vehicle to continue his escape,” the sergeant said.

Buck was arrested and taken to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment of injuries. He was then taken to the Deschutes County Jail in Bend and booked on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

The district attorney's office filed six felony charges against Buck on Friday: first-degree robbery (Class A), second-degree assault and unauthorized use of a vehicle (Class B) and four Class C felony chares: unauthorized use of a vehicle, third-degree assault, first-degree theft and car theft. He's scheduled for arraignment Monday.