Keizer Police Cruiser Smashed in Pursuit

Police in Keizer are searching for the driver of a stolen SUV that was crashed into a patrol car.

Police patrol cruiser was smashed by suspect who got away Photo Courtesy: Keizer Police

(KEIZER) - A Keizer Police sergeant was fortunate Saturday, escaping serious injuries when a driver trying to evade police smashed his SUV into David LeDay`s police cruiser.

It started with an attempted traffic stop. LeDay says he was suspicious that the driver of a black 1985 GMC he was following was intoxicated. He activated the emergency lights on his patrol vehicle, but says the driver the vehicle failed to pull over.

Sgt. LeDay says he advised other patrol units that the driver was attempting to elude him near the area of Larchwood Street NE and Arcade Court NE. A very short vehicle pursuit followed.

Keizer Police Captain Jeff Kuhns says the suspect vehicle turned and traveled northbound on Arcade Court NE, when the driver seemed to recognize that it was a very short dead-end cul-de-sac. David. LeDay says he was already aware of this fact and staged his vehicle near the intersection of Arcade Court NE and Larchwood Street NE.

`The suspect vehicle turned around in the cul-de-sac and drove directly at Sgt. LeDay and his patrol vehicle. The suspect vehicle then crashed head-on into Sgt. LeDay`s patrol vehicle. The crash caused both the driver and passenger side airbags inside the patrol vehicle to deploy and a substantial amount of damage to the patrol vehicle. Sgt. LeDay was not seriously injured."

The suspect according to police is a young male in his late teens to twenties. He reportedly fled on foot from the vehicle immediately following the crash.

Kuhns says several other officers from the Keizer Police Department, Salem Police Department, and the Marion County Sheriff`s Office responded in an attempt to locate the fleeing suspect. K-9 teams from the Keizer Police Department and the Salem Police Department assisted in the search. An exhaustive search of the area did not locate the fleeing suspect.

Salem Police are continuing the investigation of the traffic crash. The suspect vehicle was reported as stolen to the Salem Police Department approximately an hour after the incident occurred in Keizer. The investigation is continuing at this time with an emphasis placed on identifying and locating the driver of the suspect vehicle. Anyone having information about this incident is asked to contact the Keizer Police Department at 503-390-3713.