This photo, provided by The Dalles Police Department, shows the mostly submerged truck that was driven into the Columbia River by a suspected drunk driver.
This photo, provided by The Dalles Police Department, shows the mostly submerged truck that was driven into the Columbia River by a suspected drunk driver.
A truck was driven into The Dalles Marina late Monday night, and the suspected driver was arrested, soaking wet, as he was getting into a cab at a nearby business.
Flying Eagle Godowa Pacheco, 35, of Eugene, was booked into the regional jail on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants (alcohol.)
According to police reports, officers with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission who were attempting to remove their patrol vessel from the Columbia River at the boat basin spotted the vehicle in the water.
Inter-Tribe dispatchers alerted dispatchers in Wasco County, telling them that the officers didn’t know if anyone was in the vehicle.
It was mostly submerged and they could see the side racks and lights.
At about the same time, dispatchers received a call from a night supervisor at the nearby Oregon Cherry Growers facility, according to the police report. They reported an intoxicated man needed a ride to a local motel and they had called a cab for him, the report stated.
He had told people at the Cherry Growers that he’d just driven into the river in his out of town employer’s 2000 Ford pickup truck, according to the report.
He was already in the cab when police arrived, the report stated. The cab was actually leaving when an officer arrived and waved to the taxi driver to stop, the report stated.
Pacheco was medically cleared and consented to a blood draw before being taken to the regional jail.
One towing company advised the truck was too far in the river for them to retrieve, according to police logs. Another towing company was able to get the vehicle after the Inter-Tribe officers helped drag it closer to the boat ramp.
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