On the evening of October 5, 2019, the Oregon State Police responded to a multi-vehicle blocking crash along Highway 20 near mile 4 just west of Toledo. A Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy drove upon the crash scene moments before the crash occurred and was informed by the driver of a red Ford Mustang that the offending driver was fleeing the scene westbound.
A eastbound vehicle had to swerve over onto the shoulder to avoid a head on collision with the driver of a Saturn sedan. The Saturn sustained heavy front end damage and was operating on flat tires, causing the rims to create sparks on the roadway. The Saturn came to rest in the opposite lane of travel and did not have any headlights on.
The driver of a Toyota sedan was east bound and attempted to avoid a collision with the Saturn, stopped in its lane of travel but side-swiped the car. The driver of the Saturn when contacted displayed several signs of impairment and was placed in custody and transported to the Lincoln County Jail.
The suspect, identified as 30-year old Ryan F. Knight of Newport started to perform the field sobriety tests and continued to display signs of impairment. He refused to perform any further tests and additionally refused to provide a breath sample. A telephonic search warrant was applied for and obtained in order to seize breath and blood samples from the suspect.
Blood samples were collected but the suspect refused to comply with providing a breath sample per the search warrant. None of the involved subjects were injured as a result of the crash. Knight was charged with DUII – Alcohol, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering, Fail to Perform Duties of Driver and Interfering with a Peace Officer. The Oregon State Police were assisted with this investigation by ODOT, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Newport Police Department, Toledo Police and Fire, and Pac-West Ambulance.