Crime, Gales Creek, Washington County Sheriff's Office

Hit-and-run crash in Gales Creek leads to dozens of police vehicles near Highways 6 and 8 junction

Washington County’s Tactical Negotiations Team drives through Downtown Gales Creek on Thursday, October 28, 2021. Photo: Chas Hundley

Read updated story here.

Gales Creek is the site of a large police presence west of the junction of Highways 6 and 8, where dozens of law enforcement vehicles, including Washington County’s Tactical Negotiation Team, flooded the area with sirens blaring Thursday morning and afternoon.

Earlier, what the Washington County Sheriff’s Office described in an email to this newspaper as a hit-and-run crash on Gales Creek Road west of Balm Grove Loop had occurred around 9:30 a.m. In an email sent just after 2 p.m., the sheriff’s office confirmed that the police presence was tied to that crash.

“Deputies believe they have located the suspect and are actively attempting to contact them,” said Washington County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Danny DiPietro in an email sent around 12:15 p.m. concerning the initial hit-and-run.

Around 1 p.m., Washington County’s Tactical Negotiations Team—a SWAT-like unit— rolled through downtown Gales Creek with sirens blaring.

Washington County’s Tactical Negotiations Team drives through Downtown Gales Creek on Thursday, October 28, 2021. Photo: Chas Hundley

Washington County’s Tactical Negotiations Team drives through Downtown Gales Creek on Thursday, October 28, 2021. Photo: Chas Hundley

Photos sent in to this newspaper by eyewitnesses confirmed that dozens of law enforcement and emergency vehicles were parked at the junction of Highways 6 and 8.

“Police Activity in the Area. Use Caution,” read a notice from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

An image from the traffic camera at the junction of Highway 6 and 8 on October 28, 2021

A person who wished to remain unnamed that lives in the area said that a house west of the junction had numerous law enforcement vehicles at the site.

“The suspect is believed to be in the house where deputies are now,” DiPietro said in an email to the Gales Creek Journal, describing the location of the incident as near the junction of Highways 6 and 8.

This story will be updated as more information is confirmed.

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Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

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