EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Police say a high-speed chase that involved two stolen vehicles whipsawed between Eugene and Springfield, Ore., before a determined police dog chased a fleeing man into the Willamette River and bit him on the rear.
The chase began Wednesday when a man fled from Eugene police in a stolen car. Police say the man abandoned that car, ran across a golf course and stole a different vehicle. Police backed off the chase but the second stolen car was soon seen in Springfield, then Eugene, then back in Springfield, finally hitting a boulder.
The driver fled on foot into the river but a Springfield police dog was right behind him.
Police say 34-year-old Jeremy Carlson of Eugene was booked into jail. The Register-Guard reports that he had three prior arrest warrants on car theft and identity theft charges. Springfield police Sgt. Mike McCarthy says the man is also a suspect in a Tuesday hit-and-run.
