Gaston man arrested after two-county chase, OSP vehicle hit

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) - Deputies arrested a Gaston man after he led officers on a chase through two counties and hit an Oregon State Police vehicle early Friday morning, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said just before 12:30 a.m. Friday, a deputy saw a southbound SUV on Highway 47 going 118 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone going into the city of Gaston. The deputy tried to catch up to the SUV, but lost sight of it as it went into Yamhill County.

A Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office deputy found the SUV and attempted to stop it, but the driver turned around and headed north on Highway 47 back into Washington County. As the SUV came towards the city of Forest Grove, officers with Forest Grove police and Oregon State Police helped by placing stop sticks on Highway 47.

The SUV ran over stop sticks at Highway 47 and Anderson Road, crossed the southbound lanes near 90 miles an hour and hit an OSP patrol vehicle head-on parked on the southbound shoulder. The trooper was outside the vehicle removing stop sticks.

Deputies arrested the driver. He has been identified as 33-year-old Kevin Flanagan of Gaston.

A pregnant woman, who was a passenger, had to be helped from the vehicle due to the crash. She told deputies she was listening to Washington County dispatch by using a cell phone scanner app. She is not facing any charges.

Flanagan is facing the following charges: