A fight, a gunshot, a car crash - and another escape

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - A man with a history of fleeing police and escaping from jail escaped again Thursday morning in an incident that injured on officer, prompted another to fire his gun and wrecked a stolen car.

Thomas Grimes fought with an officer at 3:40 a.m., injuring the officer, the Springfield Police said.

Grimes then jumped in a nearby stolen car and drove the car at a second officer, who fired a shot at the car, police said.

The car missed the officer, and police gave chase. Grimes crashed his car at 42nd and Olympic, then fled into the woods on foot.

Police dogs and the SWAT team searched the area for Grimes, to no avail.

Later, a white 1996 4-door Saturn with license plate 775EUP was reported stolen from a business in the direction Grimes had fled.

Escaped from jail in June

Deputies at the Douglas County Jail discovered Grimes missing from his cell in June.

A few days later, police spotted him in Springfield and moved in, but Grimes fled and escaped capture.

Grimes was being held in Douglas County on several warrants charging him with Attempt to Elude, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering and Possession of a Stolen Vehicle.

Grimes was also being held on a warrant out of Lane County and a Lane County Parole Board hold.

In December 2009, Grimes took off in a stolen car from Springfield, barreling head-on into traffic as deputies tried to take him into custody on a warrant, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities in Douglas County took Grimes into custody in January of this year after another car chase when police in Sutherlin attempted to stop a car for a minor traffic violation. Instead of pulling over, the driver - later identified as Grimes - sped off, reaching speeds over 100 miles an hour.

Officers followed the car into Oakland, where the driver ditched the vehicle and ran on foot.

Sergeant Joseph Felix of the Sutherlin Police Department said officers were looking for the suspect when he noticed the skirting on a mobile home unit was displaced.

"I could smell him before I could see him," Felix told KPIC News in January.

Felix said the smell of alcohol was very strong, and he eventually located Grimes underneath the mobile home and took him into custody.

This is a developing story. Watch KVAL.com and KVAL 13 TV News for more on this story