A lengthy pursuit by OSP cruiser, county SUV, and snowcat resulted in the arrest Feb. 26 of a 52-year-old Madras woman in the snowy forested area about five miles off Eightmile Road.
Trooper Jonathan Swiger was heading south on US 197 near milepost 12 at 2:55 a.m. when a black Jeep Wrangler heading northbound crossed into his lane, nearly crashing into him head-on, Swiger reported in an OSP log entry. The Jeep Wrangler then nearly crashed head on into a log truck that was behind Swiger, he reported. He turned around and overtook the Jeep at milepost 7, the driver of the Jeep was traveling approximately 85 miles per hour before turning west onto Eightmile Road. Swiger activated emergency lights and siren but the driver kept going at approximately 60 mph, failing to drive within her lane, Swiger reported.
“Due to the reckless driving I observed prior to attempting to stop the driver, I decided to engage in a pursuit as I believed she was going to continue driving recklessly,” he said in his log report.
The driver went west on Eightmile Road, north onto Walston Grade Road, and back south on Pine Hollow Road towards Eightmile Road. Swiger lost visual of the Jeep on Pine Hollow Road and began checking the area for the vehicle. He saw fresh tracks in the gravel heading west on Eightmile Road, Walston Grade, and Pleasant Ridge Road and followed the tracks to the forest boundary. The tracks continued west into the Mt. Hood National Forest on USFS Road 4440.
Wasco County Deputy Ray Randall arrived and Swiger told him the OSP vehicle did not have enough clearance to continue.
About five miles from the forest boundary, Randall’s SUV got stuck in the snow and the tracks continued.
“I know this area very well and suspected the driver was also stuck a short distance from us,” Swiger said. A snowcat driver from the Columbia Gorge Power Sledders responded to assist and the operators located the Jeep and driver about a mile west of where Swiger and Randall were stuck. They were picked up by the snowcat and provided a ride to the Jeep’s location. The driver was attempting to get the Jeep unstuck by driving it back and forth. The driver was taken into custody without incident, Swiger said.
“The driver admitted the reason she attempted to elude was because she knew she had a warrant for her arrest. The driver told me the reason she crossed into my lane was she fell asleep,” he reported. The snowcat operators hooked up to the Jeep and transported officers and arrestee to USFS Road 44 where they were met by Wasco Deputy Nolan Ward, who transported the driver and lodged Jody Lee Speck, 50, at NORCOR on charges of attempting to elude, reckless endangering, reckless driving, and the parole violation. The Jeep, which was a rental, was towed for safe keeping. The snowcat operators took the officers back to the stuck patrol SUV and pulled it out.
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