SILETZ – A 62-year-old Siletz man was killed and a 35-year-old Logsden man arrested on accusations of criminally negligent homicide after a head-on collision early Saturday just east of Siletz.
In a news release Tuesday, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Rustin Johnson, 62, was killed in the collision about 7:40 a.m. Saturday on Logdsen Road about two miles east of Siletz.
The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash, Michael Eller, 35, of Logsden, was arrested after he showed signs of impairment, the sheriff’s office said. He is in the Lincoln County Jail on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and criminally negligent homicide.
Deputies said Eller was alone in his Chevrolet pickup when it collided with Johnson’s Honda CRV. Eller was not injured.
In a probable cause affidavit by Deputy David Boys filed Tuesday in Lincoln County Circuit Court, Eller told deputies that he fell asleep while driving home from work at Walmart in Newport and tried to swerve back into his lane. But Boys said Eller slurred a word, had glassy and bloodshot eyes and showed signs of impairment during a field sobriety test.
Boys’ affidavit said he found two vaping pens on the floorboard of Eller’s truck and that Eller told him he smoked marijuana at work about 2 a.m. Saturday. After the arrest, Boys said he found a vial with a “white crystalline” substance in Eller’s pants that appeared to be methamphetamine and that Eller confirmed it was.
A blood test at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital showed no alcohol in Eller’s system, Boys said in his affidavit.
The sheriff’s office asked that anyone with information related to the crash to contact investigators at 541-265-0777 and reference case number NPS24015277.