October 15, 2024 10:00 a.m.

A Roseburg man was arrested by both the Roseburg Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office following an eluding incident on Monday night.

Reports from both agencies indicate that 25-year-old Blake Van Norman was called in for driving recklessly in the area of West Godeck Avenue in Roseburg at about 7:30 p.m. Van Norman’s vehicle reportedly destroyed a large amount of fence, struck multiple parked vehicles along with a boat, and a garage before the driver fled the location.

An RPD officer located Van Norman near Godeck and Old Melrose Road where the suspect allegedly attempted to elude at high speeds. The pickup had a fence pole stuck underneath it, which was causing a large amount of sparks. The officer caught up with the pickup after it crashed in the 100 block of San Souci Drive.

Van Norman climbed into the back seat after being contacted and claimed there were numerous other unknown subjects in the vehicle, including an unknown man who he said was driving. Van Norman reportedly showed extremely obvious signs of impairment and stated that he was too drunk to drive.

K9 Ozzy was deployed on an area search and confirmed no one had left the truck in the direction Van Norman claimed. Numerous witnesses identified Van Norman as the driver and sole occupant of the truck during the incident. He was arrested and taken to corrections where he refused standard field sobriety tests and a breath test.

A search warrant was applied for and granted, and after refusing to cooperate again with a breath sample, he was transported to CHI Mercy Medical Center, where a blood draw was performed.

RPD charged Van Norman with attempting to elude police in a vehicle. DCSO charged him with reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person, failure to perform the duties of a driver-property damage, first-degree criminal mischief, driving under the influence of an intoxicant, and breath test refusal. Van Norman was detained without bail.