Fleeing drunk driver swerves into house

Her last one was not on the house – it was into the house. Why this driver thought she could ditch the cops and get away remains a mystery …

After a driver runs from a traffic stop, Portland Police Bureau officers come into the Madison South neighborhood.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
In the early morning hours of August 26, a Portland Police Bureau (PPB) North Precinct officer saw a red four-door sedan speeding and swerving on NE 82^nd Avenue near Halsey Street.

“At 3:12 a.m., the officer attempted to stop the vehicle after observing the driver operating it recklessly,” said PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson.

The driver did not stop, and a short pursuit followed, ending when the driver attempted to make a left turn. “The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a house at NE 92nd Avenue and Eugene Street,” Simpson explained.

The driver of this car smashed through the fence in the yard, and busted through a cement block wall and into the house. Courtesy of KATU TV 2 News

“The people who live there ran out, looking scared for their lives,” said neighbor Bertha Williams. “The car smashed right into the side of the house – and it’s made out of cement blocks. What a welcome to the neighborhood; I think they moved in only in May of this year.”

The residents inside the outer East Portland home were not injured, reported Simpson, and the driver was taken into custody.

33-year-old Sarah Ruth Rascoe remains in custody on a variety of charges related this incident. MCDC booking photo

At 7:20 a.m. that morning, 33-year-old Sarah Ruth Rascoe was booked into Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC), and was charged with Attempt to Elude by Vehicle, Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree, DUII, Driving While Suspended, Reckless Endangerment (two counts), and Reckless Driving.

After appearing in Multnomah County Court later that day, the judge “released” charges of Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, Reckless Endangerment, and Reckless Driving on Rascoe.

In the light of day, the hole in the house has been temporarily covered with plywood; the pile of cement blocks is a testament to the damage done.

In lieu of $10,500 bail on the unsentenced charges, Rascoe remains in custody, in Multnomah County Inverness Jail.

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