A 19-year old Sunriver resident is facing multiple charges following a near 4-hour search after he intentionally crashed into an OSP patrol car while trying to elude troopers in the Gilchrist area.
On June 20, 2010 at 5:15 p.m. OSP troopers were advised to be on the lookout for a white Nissan pickup displaying Oregon license plates. The driver was a suspect in a Bend-area beer theft and a later "dine and dash" in La Pine. Shortly after receiving the information, OSP Sergeant Mark Crisp saw the pickup at the Crescent Shell Station and contacted the driver inside the station. As OSP Senior Trooper Joe Smith arrived to assist, the driver, later identified as BLAKE MATTHEW KARLWICZ, age 19, from Sunriver, jumped into the pickup and fled from the gas station.
The troopers kept the pickup in sight as it reached speeds up to 80 mph southbound on Highway 97 for about three miles where it attempted to turn off onto a dirt road. As the pickup slowed to turn, Smith did a tactical vehicle intervention on the pickup's side causing it to spin out. Both troopers were moving into position to prevent the pickup from leaving when the driver intentionally crashed into the front of one of the OSP vehicles.
The pickup continued for about two miles on the dirt road before the driver abandoned it and fled on foot.
OSP troopers from Bend, a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer, and a Bend police canine unit responded to assist in the search for the driver.
At approximately 9:15 p.m. the driver, KARLOWICZ, was found at the Pilot truck stop in Chemult and arrested. Chemult is about 15 miles south of where the driver fled on foot from the pickup.
Both OSP patrol vehicles had minor damage related to the attempt to elude.
KARLOWICZ was lodged in the Klamath County Jail on the following charges:
* Reckless Endangering Another Person (two counts)
* Reckless Driving
* Misdemeanor Attempt to Elude on Foot
* Felony Attempt to Elude in a Vehicle
* Attempted Assault in the Second Degree
* Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance
* Criminal Mischief in the First Degree (two counts)
Photograph Source: Oregon State Police
