Grants Pass man charged with reckless driving, hit-and-runs, DUI, escaping from police

GRANTS PASS Ore. (KPTV) - A 47-year-old man was arrested Thursday in Grants Pass and charged with several hit-and-runs while driving drunk and then escaping police custody, according to the Grants Pass Police Department.

At about 10:30 a.m., police received multiple reports of a person driving erratically.

Security cameras showed a vehicle driving the wrong way on Northeast Sixth Street and then crash into two other vehicles. After which, police said the vehicle struck a Pacific Power guideline on Northeast Evelyn Avenue, then drove through a school zone before stopping on Northeast Eighth Street near Northeast A Street.

The driver, Aaron J. Smock, was the only person injured, police said.

After Smock was arrested, police took him to Three Rivers Medical Center for his injuries. While there, police said Smock attempted to flee their custody twice. The second time he made it on foot to Grandview Avenue near Southeast Independence Drive before police found him, they said.

Detectives said Smock had been drinking at the Wonder Bur Lounge and Café before driving on Thursday morning.

Smock was booked into Josephine County Jail and charged with driving under the influence, leaving multiple accident scenes, reckless driving, escaping from police and driving with a suspended license.