Police: Trucker arrested after near-miss in construction zone

CRESCENT, Ore. - A trucker struck a piece of construction equipment nearly hit a flagger and other workers on the Salt Creek Tunnel project on Thursday, then left the scene and tried to ignore a state trooper for several miles before stopping, police said.

A state trooper arrested the 71-year-old California man and booked him into the Lane County jail on six counts of recklessly endangering another person. William Colvin of Watsonville, Calif., was also charged with reckless driving and attempting to elude an officer.

State police got the call that a crash had occured in the construction zone east of Oakridge just after 11 a.m. Thursday. A commercial truck hit a piece of equipment, and the driver was being detained at the scene by construction workers, the initial report to police alleged.

When Senior Trooper Ron Martin arrived on scene, the workers said the driver had left on Highway 58 eastbound. Martin caught up with the truck and tailer, which failed to yield to the officer for several miles before stopping in Klamath County, near Crescent.

State police said their investigation found Colvin's truck hit a piece of equipment and barely missed hitting a flagger and other workers. The truck then drove over concrete forms in the tunnel, which is undergoing a major reconstruction this summer and next.