Incident:                              Wrong Way Driver Arrest
Location:                             Hwy 126 @I5, Springfield Oregon
Case Number:                   21-2755
Date/Time:                         April 24th / 0152hrs
More Information:          Lt Crolly 541-726-3714
Completed By:                 Sergeant Kirkpatrick

ARRESTED:                          Jesse David Jaffe 24 year old White male of Springfield

CHARGES:                           DUII, Reckless Endangering x5, Reckless Driving, Hit and Run                                            

NARRATIVE OF INCIDENT:  On Saturday morning at 1:52am K9 Officer Oleary was monitoring traffic on Highway 126 Eastbound near Interstate 5 when a new one-ton Dodge truck went by him the wrong way at a high rate of speed.  Officer Oleary began trying to parallel  the truck which reached speeds of 100mph (Eastbound in the Westbound lanes).  The truck went up the onramp to Mohawk Blvd and turned north, then quickly Eastbound on Marcola Rd.  Officer Oleary was now behind the truck with his overhead lights activated.  The truck was slow to stop and after striking the curb, stopped near 28th St and Marcola Rd.  The driver did not respond to commands to exit the truck.  Officer Oleary recognized the driver to be Jaffe from prior encounters, and was able to talk Jaffe into complying without force.  Officers quickly transitioned to a DUII investigation, and he was arrested a short time later.  He began kicking the inside of the patrol car, and striking his head on the interior partition.  Officers are currently writing a search warrant for blood related to the DUII investigation.

As Officer Oleary was trying to catch the truck, Dispatchers began receiving a flood of 911 calls from motorists who were almost struck head on by Jaffe.  One of the callers described driving Westbound on the Highway when the truck in front of her began driving erratic.  It was then, that she observed the Dodge driving straight at her.  She took evasive action and steered away from Jaffe.  The side view mirror from Jaffe’s truck collided with her vehicle, crumpling the (A pillar – see photo).  Jaffe continued on at high speeds without slowing. 

Had this driver not reacted as quickly as she did, the impact would have been fatal. 

Jaffe