Springfield Man Arrested For Causing Injury Motorcycle Crash on Hwy 126W

A ill-mannered driver nearly costs a biker his life.

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(EUGENE, Ore.) - Today, Oregon State Police arrested the driver of a vehicle that caused a motorcyclist to lose control and crash along Highway 126W west of Veneta early Sunday evening.

66-year old Valentin Camarillo, from Roseburg, was riding his 1997 Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound in a group of four motorcycles when a vehicle came up from behind them.

The vehicle, a Toyota Corolla driven by 27-year old Christopher Jacob Jenson, from Springfield, attempted to pass the group of bikes when it forced its way into the middle of the pack just as the eastbound lanes merge from two lanes to one; as the car cut in front of the two rear motorcycles, it caused Camarillo to lose control, and crash.

The motorcycle traveled off the highway near milepost 36 and rolled, ejecting the driver off the motorcycle.

The Toyota reportedly sped off, followed soon after by two other motorcycles.

An OSP trooper responded to the crash at 6:08 p.m., and the victim was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

According to Lieutenant Robert Edwards,three people were arrested about twenty miles away for a retaliatory incident, when the Toyota was damaged by members of the Brother Speed Motorcycle Club in west Eugene.

The bikers were apparently trying to stop the car that was fleeing the scene of an accident, to no avail.

At about 5:56 p.m. OSP Northern Command Center dispatch received a transferred 9-1-1 call regarding two motorcycles chasing a passenger car eastbound on Highway 126W toward Eugene.

The two motorcycles, whose operators were wearing Brother Speed Motorcycle Club jackets, reportedly were hitting a Toyota Corolla with their hands and a metal object as it traveled along the highway.

The bikes overtook the car, occupied by Christopher Jenson, and an adult female. Its rear window was broken out by one of the motorcyclists, using a metal hook attached to a leather lash.

An OSP trooper spotted the two motorcycles behind the Toyota Corolla eastbound on West 11th Street at Beltline Road at about 6:10 p.m., and they were stopped at West 11th and Bailey Hill.

OSP troopers, Lane County Sheriff's Office and Eugene Police Department took the two men, both members of Brother Speed Motorcycle Club, and a female passenger into custody on multiple charges after a brief, initial investigation.

OSP arrested 54-year old Kenneth Cornell, from Roseburg, and 36-year old Phillip Davis, from Portland, and lodged them in the Lane County Jail. Cornell was charged with Harassment, Menacing, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (prescription meds). Davis was charged with Harassment, Menacing, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree. Eugene police arrested 36-year old Amber Johnson, from Myrtle Creek and she was lodged in the Lane County Jail for Harassment and Resisting Arrest.

The driver of the vehicle was not arrested at that time, since the investigation had not taken place yet, the police did not take that step.

Two days later, OSP arrested the Toyota's driver, 27-year old Christopher Jacob Jenson, from Springfield. The police investigation included an interview with an independent witness. Jenson was taken to the Lane County Jail and booked for Reckless Driving and Recklessly Endangering Another Person.

Though the crash victim was transported for his injuries, OSP played down the incident by stating that the motorcycle crash was a "minor injury" accident, but it is common sense that it could have meant instant death to the biker.

The police chose not to release the names of the vehicle's adult driver initially, "for purposes related to the investigation". Today, he was arrested for his alleged unlawful, life threatening actions.

View articles written by Bonnie King