Wilsonville Man Arrested for July 22nd Hit and Run Crash

The suspect says he turned himself in after watching Sunday night media reports about the incident.

23-year old Chad Barnett Suomela of Wilsonville. Photo courtesy: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office

(WILSONVILLE, Ore.) - Oregon State Police arrested a Wilsonville-area man Tuesday morning related to a hit & run crash early Sunday on southbound Interstate 205 near Interstate 5 that injured a Woodburn motorcyclist.

The suspect, 23-year old Chad Barnett Suomela of Wilsonville, contacted OSP to turn himself in following an injury hit & run crash on July 22nd at 3:32 AM. The crash happened while he was southbound on Interstate 205 near milepost 1.

Suomela says he turned himself in after watching Sunday night media reports about the incident.

Suomela allegedly was driving a red 1999 Ford Escort at a high rate of speed when he struck the back of a motorcycle operated by 34-year old Christopher Lee Howe of Woodburn.

Howe was thrown from his motorcycle and onto the pavement. He received non-life threatening injuries and was treated and released from a local hospital. Police say the car that struck Howe left the scene without stopping.

After turning himself in, Suomela was lodged in the Clackamas County Jail for Felony Hit & Run related to an injury traffic crash. The investigation will be forwarded to the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office for consideration of additional charges.

Anyone with information regarding this case, including witnesses who may have observed the suspect vehicle's driving prior to the crash, is asked to contact OSP Senior Trooper Jim Neufeldt at (503) 731-3020 ext. 404.