A 20-year-old Portland woman was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing into a Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office patrol SUV during a memorial patrol honoring two fallen reserve deputies.
The crash happened around 11:15 p.m. at Northeast 162nd Avenue and Northeast Fremont Street in Portland. According to the sheriff’s office, neither the deputy nor a passenger inside the SUV was injured.
The suspect, Luz Solimar Chavez-Castillo, was taken into custody by Oregon State Police, which led the investigation. She was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants, two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of reckless driving.
The collision occurred several hours into a high-visibility DUII patrol conducted in partnership with Oregon State Police, Gresham Police Department and TriMet Transit Police.
Honoring Fallen Deputies
The patrol was organized to honor Reserve Sgt. Scott Collins and Reserve Deputy Mark Whitehead, who were killed on Feb. 26, 1993, while patrolling Interstate 84 near Fairview.
Authorities said an impaired driver, Ervin Vandervoort, crossed the median at speeds exceeding 100 mph and struck their patrol vehicle. All three men died in the crash.
Collins, 34, had served five years as a reserve deputy, while Whitehead, 26, had served about 18 months. Both worked alongside full-time deputies without pay.
Before Saturday’s patrol began, family members of Collins and Whitehead gathered with law enforcement officers at the Troutdale Operations Center. Relatives said the annual mission continues to honor the deputies’ memory and highlight the dangers of impaired driving.
The sheriff’s office said official statistics from the DUII operation were still being compiled as of Sunday.
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