Logan Kitzhaber said he cannot remember details before car crash

PORTLAND — A former Oregon governor’s teenage son who pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants and assault says he cannot remember what caused him to swerve into the opposing traffic, causing a car crash along the coast.

Logan Kitzhaber, 19, told police he was driving a car registered under his father’s name to go play miniature golf in Lincoln City, Ore., reported The Oregonian/OregonLive  on Monday. Kitzhaber, whose father is former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, said he had only been driving for 15 minutes before the crash in 2016.

Kitzhaber told officials that he had been smoking marijuana the night before and remembered drinking a beer before he started driving. Hospital records do not show alcohol in the teen’s blood test.

Motorcyclists said they had seen the teen drive aggressively and erratically while he tried to pass cars in a two-lane highway, according to police reports. A witness said after the teen passed him, he clipped a road barrel. Other drivers reported having to swerve out of Kitzhaber’s way to avoid a crash.

Kitzhaber pleaded guilty and was sentenced March 27 to seven days in jail and five years of probation. He was also ordered to undergo drug and alcohol treatment and his license was suspended for five years.

Lincoln County Deputy District Attorney Kylie Andrisa declined to comment on the case.

The Washington couple whose motorhome Kitzhaber crashed into survived the incident, but say they were left badly injured and traumatized.