Vehicle crashes into historic Wasco Train Depot

Sherman County authorities responded early Sunday morning to reports of a vehicle crash in Wasco, with reported damage to the historic Wasco Train Depot.

Deputy Sol Jacobsen of the Sherman County Sheriff's Office said he received a call at approximately 7:40 a.m. Sunday, and proceeded with caution to the crash site due to icy roads.

The vehicle, a 2012 white Ford F250 pickup, crashed into the eastern corner of the Train Depot on Clark Street, Wasco's main thoroughfare, just across the street from a stop sign coming from Highway 206 to the east. The vehicle was unoccupied, and the driver had evidently fled the scene. The crash is believed to have occurred early Sunday morning shortly before it was discovered.

The damage caused by the crash directly impacted the building's electrical system, which powered the holiday lights on not only the roof and deck of the building, but also the big tree in the park, the site of the town's annual Christmas treelighting event just two weeks ago.

"There was extensive damage to the building and extensive damage to the front end of the pickup," Jacobsen said.

He said the vehicle's owner was determined to be a Condon resident, but the driver was reportedly not the vehicle's owner.

And although the vehicle was not reported stolen, it was being driven without the consent of the owner, he added. The vehicle was driven away from its intended location at approximately 8 p.m. the night before.

Officials do have a prime suspect, but they are not able to release his identity at this time. He is described as a white male age 45 to 50, slim build, medium height, brown hair, and he is still at large. Jacobsen said the suspect is a Condon resident and a person deputies have made contact with many times in the past.

Additionally, the suspect is known to have previous warrants, and he is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation in Gilliam County.

A security camera at a nearby business caught the crash on video. Jacobsen said after watching the video he was able to clearly make out the identity of the suspect as he fled the scene, given previous run-ins with the individual.

Jacobsen said that while formal charges are still pending, he expects given the significant financial impact of the damage that this will be a felony case. He confirmed the vehicle itself was insured, but he is unsure how exactly that will play out with regard to structural damage to the historic building.

Ironically, this is not the only vehicular damage that was discovered Sunday morning at Wasco Depot Park. Behind the Depot next to the park's restrooms, authorities and city workers discovered a chain link fence that was partially flattened by a vehicle that apparently crashed through it and drove straight through the park past the playground equipment.

This incident was determined to likely be unrelated to the Depot building crash, however, and is assumed to have occurred sometime between Friday night and Saturday night.

Although the damage was only discovered Sunday morning, Jacobsen said, the muddy tire tracks running through the grass were topped with fresh snow, indicating they had been there awhile. Deputies have no leads on the vehicle that drove through the park, other than noting that it must have been tall enough to knock down a fence that was three or four feet tall.

"It's frustrating to all of us who have a vested interest in our community," Jacobsen said. "This is the biggest thing I battle - I'm responsible to the state of Oregon, but intrinsically I'm responsible for the 1,860 of us that live here. That's my first priority. And when we are victimized in any way, it's really a struggle."

Jacobson said community members are urged to contact the Sherman County or Gilliam County sheriff's offices if they have information on either incident, know the whereabouts of the suspect at large, or might possibly have video footage from neighboring security cameras.

"I personally really disdain when bad things happen in our community, because we pride ourselves on trying to take care of our people," he said.