PORTLAND -- A police chase nearly ended after the suspect crashed a stolen car down a 30 to 40-foot embankment, but then he and his passenger ran away into a rural area of Clackamas County.
At about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, a deputy on his way to work spotted a KIA Sorento on Highway 213 at South Eldorado Road, being driven by a man who appeared to be impaired, according to Sgt. Adam Phillips of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
The deputy tried to pull the car over, but the driver sped away. A pursuit through the Mulino area lasted about ten minutes, until the driver slowed down and appeared to be pulling over.
The deputy started to slow his vehicle down and noticed the KIA was backing up, in a likely attempt to disable the patrol car, Phillips said. The deputy reversed his vehicle and minimized the impact.
Another pursuit began and the driver of the KIA turned down a dead end road, in the 25000 block of South Pike Avenue, and went over an embankment, sending the car down a 30 to 40-foot drop. The driver and a passenger then got out of the vehicle and ran away.
A CCSO K-9 unit was called in, along with Oregon State Police troopers and Mollala police officers, but the suspects were not located.
Investigators then learned the car had been stolen from Salem and there was evidence inside it that led deputies to believe the suspects had been out committing burglaries overnight.
"There was personal property inside the vehicle that wouldn't make sense for one person to have in a vehicle," Phillips said.
The deputy was not injured, but the vehicle was damaged.
Police believe both occupants of the vehicle were adult men, but had no further suspect descriptions.
