Driver Booked for DUII After Smashing Police Car

56-year old Diane Marie Nelson of Veneta was arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.

Photograph Source: Oregon State Police

(VENETA, Ore.) - An Oregon State Police trooper was not injured Thursday night when his patrol car was struck by an intoxicated driver as the trooper arrived upon the scene of a reported crash on Highway 126W about two miles east of Veneta.

At approximately 8:15 PM, OSP Senior Trooper Rick Hamilton was responding to the scene of a reported traffic crash on Highway 126W near Central Road.

OSP Spokesman Greg Hastings says that upon arriving at the scene with emergency lights activated on the marked OSP patrol car, Senior Trooper Hamilton began to make a u-turn to pull in behind the scene of the initial reported crash.

That is when the patrol car was struck by a 1989 Chevrolet S10 pickup as it tried to pass the police car. Senior Trooper Hamilton was not injured. Both vehicles were moderately damaged.

The Lane County Sheriff's Office investigated the OSP-involved crash and subsequently arrested the pickup's driver, 56-year old Diane Marie Nelson of Veneta, for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.

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Hastings says the initial reported crash turned out to be an abandoned vehicle from an earlier crash.

OSP were assisted at the scene by Lane County Sheriff's Office and Lane County Fire District #1.
Source: Oregon State Police