Payette County patrol car totaled

By Andy Gates | Argus Observer
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 11:04 AM PDT

PAYETTE — A Payette County Sheriff’s Office patrol car was totaled Saturday morning along Interstate 84 after it was struck by a motorist, and county officials decided Monday to order a new replacement car for the existing fleet.

The patrol car was initially deployed to a rollover crash in the west lane of I-84 around 4 a.m. The vehicle was parked along the right lane of the highway with its lights activated, and flares also lined the road to direct traffic into the left lane, Payette County Sheriff Chad Huff said.

A motorist — Crystal Marr, 46, Oregon City — failed to recognize the right lane was closed and struck the Payette County vehicle, according to a release from Idaho State Police.

“The way I picture it is, the driver had to have driven over the flares. The scene was visible,” Huff said.

The flare pattern was approximately a quarter mile long, other emergency cars had their lights activated, and several other vehicles had previously passed the incident by moving into the left lane, Huff said.

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A Payette County Sheriff’s Office deputy had obtained a pen from his patrol car, just before it was struck, and he was walking to the first accident scene when he heard the collision, Huff said.

Marr was cited for inattentive driving. Minor injuries were reported, but no one was taken to the hospital, according to the ISP release.

The incident is being investigated by Idaho State Police, and alcohol is not suspected to be a factor. ISP officers did not return a call Monday for comment.

An older vehicle from the Payette County Sheriff’s Office fleet can replace the totaled patrol car, at least temporarily.

The Payette County Commissioners also gave a green-light Monday to order a new patrol car, Huff said.

Insurance from the damaged vehicle will cover a good portion of the costs for a new one, but probably not all of the expense, Huff said.

“Obviously it’s a setback, because I was going to request two new patrol cars,” Huff said.

Huff said the totaled patrol car was a 2003 Dodge Intrepid in good condition with low mileage, and it probably could have remained in the fleet for at least two additional years.

Huff said he will probably seek a Dodge Charger police car as a replacement.

It would be difficult to find a used car entirely comparable to the vehicle that was totaled, Huff said.

The 2003 Chevrolet Impala backup car has a lot of miles and was being used as a spare patrol car and as a transport vehicle, Huff said.

It took about two to three months for the Payette County Sheriff’s Office to receive their last patrol cars after they were ordered.

This time around, though, Huff said, “we’re hoping they have some made and we can get one quicker.”

Meanwhile, Huff said, he or his staff could potentially give up a car and double up.

“That’s the price of doing business as an officer,” Huff said.