‘Determined to hurt me:’ Scary road rage incident begins on Crooked River Ranch, leads to Terrebonne man’s arrest

(Update: adding video, comments by victim, witness; Bend PD; DA to consider charges after OSP files report)

CROOKED RIVER RANCH, Ore (KTVZ) -- A mother and her teen daughter were traveling from Crooked River Ranch to Bend early last week when they say they became victims of a frightening road rage incident that lasted for several miles and led to a Terrebonne man's arrest on DUII and other charges by Oregon State Police.

OSP said they arrested the drive for DUII, reckless driving and reckless endangering. According to their report, "The listed suspect was transported to the OSP Bend patrol office. where he refused to take a breath test. A search warrant was applied for blood evidence and granted. The listed suspect was later lodged in Deschutes County jail without further incident." They said he met jail release criteria.

"With my 15 year old daughter, I was I was petrified." Joanna Gange told NewsChannel 21 Thursday. "Not for myself, but for her. And when he stopped and got out of his vehicle, I feared for my life. I didn't know if he was armed. I didn't know if he was bringing a gun or a knife or anything. I just knew I needed to get out of there!”

Gange was on the way to Bend with her daughter the evening of Monday, March 4 when she found herself in a nightmare driving situation. She says after passing a vehicle on NW Lower Bridge Road, she was harassed by the driver, and ultimately he ran her off the road more than once, pushing her into oncoming traffic. 

Gange said it began after she legally passed the truck that "was all over the road. … He sped up and got on my tail, flashing his high-beams all the way off the ranch," then passed her and slowed to 25-35 mph, more than once, back and forth.

"When I attempted to pass him, he ran me off the road several times," she said, and at one point got out and ran toward her car. The incident continued on Highway 97 through Terrebonne, with him passing her and slowing yet again, as she was transfered from Jefferson to Deschutes County dispatchers and begged them to send help as soon as possible.

Troopers said they received the report around 5:30 p.m. that day of a reckless driver on Lower Bridge Road, with two witnesses saying the driver, later identified as a 60-year-old Terrebonne man, nearly causing a head-on collision.

Seth Sutherland, a witness to the road rage incident told us, “He proceeded to merge back on to the road, pushing them into oncoming traffic, head-on with myself. They almost went completely off the road, into the shoulder of the road, head-on with a power pole. Had I not have stepped on my brakes as fast as I did. they probably would have had either a head-on with the pole or myself.”

Sutherland said he saw Gange’s jeep barrel toward his pickup only 20-30 yards away and slammed on his brakes. The sudden stop damaged his equipment. 

OSP said the man was contacted at his home and "was found passed out in his driver's seat." He "was impaired to a perceptible degree," they said, and they arrested him on charges of DUII, reckless driving and four counts of reckless endangerment.

Gange said, “Sergeant Hansen told me, he's like -- this was a guy who was going to kill somebody. Maybe not intentionally, but he was so drunk that he was -- I don't know if he was completely unaware. I don't know. I just know that he was hell-bent on making me pay” for her initial pass of his pickup.

According to road rage statistics from the Journal of Consumer Research, the most prevalent road rage involves speeding, tailing, honking, and running a red light. The most common reason for road rage has to do with heavy traffic, but also can be exacerbated by other factors such as feeling stressed or tired. Oregon does not have a specific law against road rage, but there are numerous possible charges, depending on what transpires. 

Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said, “It's not illegal to yell at somebody. Those are free speech issues. But when you start to get into really reckless driving, that's more than just a traffic violation. It's more than just cutting someone off for tailgating. That's when it could constitute reckless driving.”

Bend PD advises drivers not to engage with those displaying signs of road rage. Don't make eye contact and do not yell back. Instead, call law enforcement and report the behavior. 

"Often what we see is that when the driver who is road raging discovers that you are pulling into the police station lobby parking lot, they're going to disengage and drive away, and that will defuse the situation," Miller said.

There is a difference between aggressive driving and road rage. Road rage is a criminal offense which includes intentional violent behavior toward other drivers. Aggressive driving is a traffic violation posing risk to other drivers.

Gange recalled her emotional state during the frightening incident: “I felt really trapped. I felt like this man is determined to hurt me.” 

Online court records show no formal charges have yet been filed against the suspect. NewsChannel 21 policy is not to name arrested persons until and unless formal charges are filed.

Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels, said criminal charges will be considered when the DA’s office receives the incident reports from OSP.