Student crashes into
motorcycle officer,
is charged with DUII
University junior Linda K. Abeles, 21, was arrested after she collided with a police officer on a motorcycle patrol vehicle in southeast Portland Sunday.
Abeles, an education major, was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, assault and reckless endangering.
The officer, Christopher D. Guzman, 34, is in critical condition in a Portland hospital with a broken leg and severe head injuries, police spokesman Henry Groepper said.
Investigators believe Abeles caused the accident by either failing to stop at a stop sign, or stopping and then pulling out in front of Guzman.
Abeles was held at the Justice Center Jail in Portland and arraigned at 2 p.m. Monday. The district attorney did not immediately return a phone call regarding the arraignment.
— Kara Cogswell
PeaceHealth completes
purchase of Springfield site
PeaceHealth announced last week that it has finalized the purchase of a new hospital site in Springfield to replace the existing Sacred Heart Medical Center just west of the University.
When completed in 2006, the hospital will have 500 beds and is expected to employ 2,200 people.
The existing Eugene site will be renovated and used for outpatient services, and PeaceHealth has promised $40 million in improvements to the area.
Critics of PeaceHealth have denounced the decision because it relocates Eugene’s only hospital and places it in Springfield, where competitor McKenzie-Willamette Hospital already operates.
PeaceHealth’s regional CEO, Alan Yordy, defended the company’s decision.
“Looking at trees and water is far better than looking at concrete and cars,” Yordy said.
The 160-acre site, which borders the McKenzie River, is more than twice the size of the original plot offered to the medical group by developer Arlie and Co.
— Brook Reinhard
