On Saturday September 21st at approximately 10:57 AM, the driver of a silver 2001, Chevrolet Tahoe, was heading westbound on Highway 20 near milepost 7. The driver, later identified as 39-year old Jason Ogo of Mountain Home Idaho, lost control of the SUV, crossed from the inside lane, across the outside lane, and drove off the highway along the north side of Highway 20. The Tahoe struck the end of a guardrail and struck a tree head on along the North West side of a private driveway.
The SUV sustained heavy front end damage. Mr. Ogo was contacted at the scene, he initially denied driving and said his wife had been driving but left the scene on foot. She was contacted at her workplace in Salem via telephone. There were open containers of “Hurricane” malt liquor inside the vehicle. Mr. Ogo reportedly eventually admitted to driving and consuming alcoholic beverages before the crash. He reportedly stated he was driving between 65 and 70 MPH in a 55 MPH zone, prior to the crash.
He also had a strong odor of alcoholic beverages coming from his breath. He consented to Standardized Field Sobriety tests and showed signs of impairment. The driver was taken into custody for DUII at 11:56 AM. He was transported to the Lincoln County Jail where he consented to, and provided a breath sample showing a blood alcohol content of .24 percent, three times the legal limit.
The driver had an expired Idaho driving permit. His Oregon Driving privileges were “No Oregon Operator’s License” with a stipulation of an IID requirement. No IID was installed in the SUV. The driver was lodged at the Lincoln County Jail for DUII-alcohol. He was also issued citations for No Oregon Operator’s License, Open Container of Alcohol, and Careless Driving.
The Oregon State Police was assisted by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Toledo PD, and ODOT Incident Response.