SALEM MAN JAILED AFTER HIGH-SPEED CHASE, 8 VEHICLES DAMAGED

Photo credits: Mike Henneke

February 20, 2022 7:40 a.m. 

A Salem man was jailed on 16 charges after a high-speed police chase led to damage to 8 vehicles on Saturday night.

Captain Kurt Sorenson of Sutherlin Police said just before 7:00 p.m. an officer saw a southbound sedan traveling at over 100 miles per hour on Interstate 5 near the Sutherlin interchange. There were no license plates on the car.

Sorenson said the vehicle did not yield when the officer turned on his lights and siren. A pursuit was initiated and the sedan continued southbound. It left the freeway at the Edenbower Boulevard exit 127. Sorenson said the sedan didn’t yield at the intersection of the exit and struck a passing vehicle. It continued west on Edenbower and struck 2 SPD vehicles.

The suspect continued to attempt to drive away and hit 2 Oregon State Police vehicles and 2 more passing vehicles. Officers were eventually able to stop the suspect and take the driver into custody. There were no passengers in the suspect vehicle.

Sorenson said officers learned that the driver, 21-year old Manuel Palacios, had a warrant out of Marion County. The vehicle had been stolen out of Keizer. It was damaged as well during the pursuit.

Palacios was charged with attempting to elude a police officer in a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, 2 counts of attempting to assault a public safety officer, 4 counts of recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving, providing false information to a police officer, 3 counts of failing to perform the duties of a driver with property damage in a hit and run and for the warrant. Palacios was held on $195,000 bail.