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Suspected Drunk Driver Crashes Into Two Tigard Police Vehicles

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	City of Tigard 13125 SW Hall Blvd. Tigard, Oregon 97223	Press Release July 19, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact:	Jim Wolf, Public Information Officer Tigard Police Department 503-718-2561 Pager: 503-795-2391 jim@tigard-or.gov

Suspected Drunk Driver Crashes Into Two Tigard Police Vehicles
On Friday, July 16, 2010 at approximately 11:25 p.m., two Tigard Police patrol vehicles conducting a traffic stop were stopped and positioned near the shoulder on southbound Pacific Highway near Johnson St. in Tigard. The emergency lighting and strobes on the police vehicles were operating. During the course of the stop, a 2006 BMW traveling southbound along Pacific Highway struck both police vehicles.

Two Tigard Police officers were outside of their vehicles and fortunately out of the path of the errant driver. Neither officer was injured. The impact of the collision pivoted one of the crushed patrol vehicles to an approximate 45 degree angle from where it originally was parked. In addition to the two Tigard Officers present at the time of the crash, there was also a civilian rider who was accompanying one of the Officers. The rider was also standing outside near one of the patrol vehicles prior to the crash. The citizen was struck by one of the parked patrol vehicles as it lunged forward during the impact. The force of the impact sent the 29 year-old man to the ground causing some injuries.

The driver of the BMW, 47 year old Cynthia Thompson of Tigard was not injured. Thompson was arrested on charges of DUII, Reckless Driving, two counts of Reckless Endangering and Assault IV. She was lodged in the Washington County Jail. Police reports indicate Thompson's BAC is .19 which is over two times the legal limit in Oregon.

In Oregon last year, 136 people lost their lives in alcohol-impaired crashes, according to ODOT's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Nationwide in 2008, nearly 12,000 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. In 2008, just over 17,000 drivers were arrested in Oregon for driving under the influence of alcohol. The Tigard Police Department is committed to making our roads safer and will to continue to strictly enforce the laws of Oregon surrounding impaired drivers.