Parkrose traffic stop leads to foot chase along railroad tracks

This pair certainly could run, officials say – but see how they couldn’t outrun the ‘long arm of the law’ …

Police eventually stop a Chevy SUV fleeing from an attempted traffic stop.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Thinking it unusual for a snazzy white 1993 Chevy SUV to be hanging out in the Parkrose Heights area – along NE 102^nd Avenue at Weidler Street, in the pre-dawn hours of November 19 – a Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officer decided to stop the vehicle for a chat.

Instead of pulling over, however, the driver sped away from officers northbound on 102nd Avenue, we learned from PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson.

“It looked like a movie,” said James Greene, a service station attendant along the outer East Portland route. “There was cop cars coming from every direction. I was wondering where they was goin’, because there ain’t to place to go down there!”

Here, where NE 102^nd Avenue connects to NE Killingsworth Street, there’s just nowhere to go.

The northerly escape route, passing NE Sandy Boulevard, indicated a lack of familiarity with the neighborhood. NE 102nd Avenue dead-ends into NE Killingsworth Street – with a sharp right turn only – on a narrow, rutted street.

The driver opted to turn west, into a driveway that leads to a double set of railroad tracks – without a crossing grade. Perhaps hoping his truck would somehow fly over the railroad tracks, the SUV’s driver instead became high-centered, teetering on the tracks.

These railroad tracks are scarred, from having a SUV high-centered on them, after a pursuit.

“A man and a woman got out of the truck and ran westbound,” Simpson said.

The pair hoofed along the tracks, and across the I-205 freeway – until the woman gave in and was caught by officers on the west side of I-205. “But, the man continued to run towards the Owens Illinois Glass Plant on NE Glass Plant Road.

“At the glass plant, the man locked himself inside a bathroom, and was eventually arrested after officers used a battering ram to open the door,” Simpson said.

30-year-old Ruby Tay Johnson remains jailed after trying to run from police.

30-year-old Ruby Tay Johnson had a warrant for Possession of Methamphetamine, Simpson reported. She was booked into the Multnomah County Jail at 8:13 a.m.

Court records show Johnson was also charged with Attempted Elude by Vehicle, Attempted Elude by Foot, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Reckless Driving, and Criminal Trespass, and is being held in lieu of $10,000 combined bail at Multnomah County Inverness Jail.

23-year-old Tyler Woods are arrested after fleeing from officers in an early morning foot chase.

23-year-old Tyler Jefre Woods was booked on charges of Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Criminal Trespass in the First Degree, and Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree.

Court records show Woods is being held without bail at the Multnomah County Detention Center for Parole or Post Prison Supervision Violation, too.

Comments are closed.