A Vancouver, Wash. man is in the Lane County Jail after assaulting three people at the C&K Market in Yachats Sunday evening and then eluding police until finally caught on Highway 126 east of Florence.
Kevin P. Hubbard, 45, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court on charges of eluding police, reckless endangering, reckless driving and driving under the influence of intoxicants.
In Lincoln County, Hubbard is accused of two counts of reckless endangering, reckless driving, four counts of assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.
The incidents began about 6:30 p.m. Sunday when witnesses said a man was attempting to shoplift from the C&K Market. He pushed a teenager, witnesses said, and then started fighting with an off-duty clerk as he tried to leave the store.
Marc Taylor, who owns the rock shop across West Second Street from the market, tried to stop the man as he tried to leave the parking lot and was nearly hit by the vehicle.
A Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy nearby on another call contacted Florence-area police dispatch to alert them that green Ford Expedition was headed south on U.S. Highway 101, that its driver appeared intoxicated and had been involved in an assault and theft in Yachats.
Dispatch soon got reports of a vehicle speeding and making dangerous passes near Sea Lion Caves.
About 7:30 police saw the green Expedition in the parking lot of the Florence Fred Meyer store. As a Florence officer approached, police said, a man jumped into the vehicle, refused commands and started backing out of the parking lot.
Because the suspect looked intoxicated, police said, the officer broke out the driver’s side door window in an attempt to stop him. Police said the vehicle accelerated backwards, striking a parked vehicle and then accelerated forward towards the officer, who jumped out of the way.
The vehicle left the Fred Meyer parking lot and headed south on Highway 101 where another Florence officer attempted to stop it. The suspect sped south through town with officers in pursuit. The vehicle turned east onto Highway 126, police said, but began break down, emitting smoke, steam and eventually car parts. After about five miles the vehicle came to a stop and officers were able to take Hubbard into custody.
Hubbard was taken Monday morning to the Lane County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Lt. Brian Cameron said that agency would wait until the conclusion of the Lane County investigation before pursuing charges.
