Oregon Mayor Seriously Injured

From the Register-Guard in Oregon:

Orville Nelson, the mayor of Lakeside Oregon, was seriously injured after being hit by a pickup truck.

The police log notes that the 27 year old driver was “headed northbound on 101 when a witness saw him cross into the southbound lane before steering the vehicle back across the northbound lane and into the parking lot.”

In the parking lot, the mayor “had just gotten his daily cup of coffee and was getting into his own pickup truck. The driver kept going before losing a wheel and getting stuck.”

A witness states, “He didn’t even have a chance to get in his truck when the Dodge ran off the road and got him. When I heard the big crash, I ran over there and saw he was hit and I ran in and called 911.” The witness then “went back outside with some wet rags and held Nelson’s head to keep him from moving, prodding him to stay awake until the ambulance got there.”

The mayor was taken to the hospital and listed in critical condition. Earlier this week his condition was “upgraded to serious.”

The driver was arrested on “suspicion of assault, possession of heroin, driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, reckless endangering, criminal mischief and unlawful possession of inhalants, after he showed signs of impairment and failed field sobriety tests.” “Several containers of inhalants” were found in the vehicle.