PORTLAND, Ore. — A man was arrested in connection to a deadly crash in Northeast Portland that left one person dead last April, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.
Herbert Lee Scruggs Jr., 38, was charged on Aug. 2 with one first-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, third-degree assault (DUII), fourth-degree assault, two counts of DUII, reckless driving and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
On April 19, Portland police responded to reports of a three-vehicle crash on Northeast 102nd Avenue overpass above Interstate 84.
Scruggs Jr., was driving south at about 100 mph in a stolen Dodge truck when he swerved into oncoming traffic under the Interstate 84 overpass and collided head-on with a Lexus SUV, police said.
The woman driving the Lexus suffered serious injuries in the crash and was taken to a local hospital. She was driving for Lyft during the crash.
The passenger in the Lexus, 47-year-old Ray Warren Ilar, was thrown from the backseat, went through the front windshield and died. Police confirmed that Ilar was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
Scruggs Jr. was thrown from the truck and taken to a nearby hospital.
According to court documents, Scruggs Jr.’s blood alcohol level was 0.12 when he arrived at the hospital. A toxicology report later confirmed the presence of marijuana and methamphetamine in his blood, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.
During the investigation, authorities discovered the truck Scruggs Jr. was driving had been reported stolen a few days earlier.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story said the Lexus driver was an Uber driver. She was a Lyft driver.