Sweet Home police arrested a 32-year-old Sweet Home man following an 18-mile pursuit early Sunday morning on multiple warrants and charges related to the pursuit.
Bryce William McGowan was arrested for misdemeanor driving while suspended, reckless driving, attempting to elude a police officer and recklessly endangering another person and on a Clackamas County warrant for providing false information to a police officer, a Linn County warrant for failure to appear on original charges of second-degree theft and second-degree failure to appear, a Salem warrant for failure to appear for arraignment and Lebanon warrant for contempt of court on original charge of second-degree disorderly conduct.
Initially, police attempted to stop a dark blue 1991 Toyota Camry in the 400 block of Main Street.
“It was traveling westbound in the 1000 block of Main when officers observed it was driving without its headlights on,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn. A patrol vehicle got behind the vehicle in the 400 block of Main, and the headlights and taillights switched on.
An officer attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle continued on, turning north on Pleasant Valley Road and the east on North River Road, Lynn said. A second Sweet Home patrol vehicle joined the pursuit. The suspect’s vehicle traveled at speeds of up to 80 mph on North River Road straightaways and then turned left onto Marks Ridge Road.
Reaching the dead end west of Ridgeway Road, the vehicle turned around and headed back east on Marks Ridge, Lynn said. Sweet Home police lost sight of the vehicle, but another Sweet Home unit located it headed east in the gravel section of Marks Ridge before losing sight of it again.
Linn County deputies joined the pursuit and located the vehicle again on Jones Road, Lynn said. The Camry’s hood had popped up, blocking the windshield, as it left Jones Road and entered Marks Ridge Road headed toward North River.
Police deployed spike strips at the intersection of Foster Dam Road and North River Road, Lynn said. The two front tires contacted the spikes, but the Camry continued west on North River Road at approximately 55 mph. The vehicle lost its front left tire and continued on bare rims at about 25 mph.
A second spike strip was deployed close to Pleasant Valley Road, Lynn said. The vehicle hit the spikes and turned left on Pleasant Valley, left on Main Street, left on 22nd Avenue and then right on Nandina where it stopped at a dead end.
Police took the alleged driver, McGowan, into custody at that point.
McGowan remained lodged at Linn County Jail Monday afternoon.