Police on Alert Between Salem and Independence After Road Rage Reports

The incidents occurred between July 31st and August 4th in the area of South River Road near Orville Road and the bridge entering Independence.

The Independence Police Department and Marion County Sheriff's office are looking into reports from different motorists of road rage and aggressive driving. Photo: Salem-News.com File

(INDEPENDENCE, Ore. ) - The Independence Police Department and Marion County Sheriff's office are looking into reports from different motorists of road rage and aggressive driving.

The incidents occurred between July 31st and August 4th in the area of South River Road near Orville Road and the bridge entering Independence.

One of the reports indicates two vehicles appearing to be acting together. They were parked waiting on the side of the road for another motorist to come by.

The suspects then begin flashing lights, tailgating, passing, and attempting to run them off the road. Then the suspects parked their vehicles in an attempt to block the victim in while one of the drivers jumped out in an aggressive manner to confront the female driver.

Fortunately she was able to avoid being blocked in and drove away going around the suspect and his vehicle. The two suspect vehicles did not follow.

Lt. Rick Igou said that road rage does not usually involve 2 vehicles acting together towards an unrelated 3rd vehicle. However, since we do not know their true intensions we wanted to share this incident with others to either raise awareness or to see if any other similar incidents have occurred.

Anyone having a similar experience or additional information on these incidents should contact either the Marion County Sheriff's Office or the Independence Police Department (depending on the location of the incident).

We want to remind motorists to use caution when stopping to help or contact another motorist, especially in rural areas away from populated locations.

The driver in this case did a great job by not allowing herself to get so close that she did not have an "escape" path. Be aware of your surroundings and if uncertain of the situation either drive to an open business, populated area or contact the police.

Both the Independence Police and the Marion County Sheriff's office will be providing extra patrol.

Source: Independence Police Department