Runner steals porta-potty service truck, hits fellow participant at Oregon relay
The incident occurred at Oregon's Hood to Coast, one of the most popular long-distance relay events in the world
A Hood to Coast relay participant was taken into custody after allegedly stealing a pickup truck belonging to portable restroom company and driving it through a field filled with resting runners and hitting a participant, according to officials and the Oregonian.
At the popular relay in Oregon, David Jon Blackmon, 36, stole a vehicle belonging to Honey Bucket and hit a woman, Cynthia Gillespie, before fleeing the scene, witnesses said. The Oregonian reports that Blackmon was “accused of second degree assault, reckless driving, reckless endangering, driving while revoked, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle and driving under the influence of intoxicants.”
Let's try this again, w/ picture of the suspect: Hood-Coast runner accused of stealing pickup, running over runner https://t.co/TCHOaA8hsD pic.twitter.com/V7YjrU3Wyd
— The Oregonian (@Oregonian) August 26, 2017
The runner who Blackmon hit around 2 a.m. local time on Saturday morning in the Birkenfield, Ore. area was taken to Oregon Health and Science University where she was later released. She suffered minor injuries after being “run over and dragged a short distance, before the truck stopped, resting on her leg,” according to Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
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Police issued the following statement: “Oregon State Police responded to assist our deputy, as did a K9 from Beaverton Police Department. The K9 located Blackmon in the woods nearby, detaining him. Once Blackmon was identified by the truck’s assigned driver, he was taken into custody and lodged in the Columbia County Jail.”
We're headed out to place more Honey Bucket restrooms for @HTCRelay #HTC17 Ready for another successful event! pic.twitter.com/1umKoJKrIF
— Honey Bucket (@honeybucket) August 23, 2017
Hood to Coast posted a statement to Facebook on Saturday, saying, in part, that “Mr. Blackmon placed the lives and safety of other people at risk last night. His actions are deplorable and are never tolerated at one of our events. It should go without saying, but to be clear, Mr. Blackmon and his team are not welcome at our events in the future.” The Facebook post can be found below.
The Hood to Coast Relay took place Aug. 25-26 and featured as many as 12,600 runners. The HTC is 320K and teams are comprised of eight to 12 members. The event is one of the longest and most popular long-distance relays in the world.