BEND, OR -- A Bend driver is accused of crashing into the pergola at the Deschutes County Circuit Court early Monday morning. At about 1:45 a.m., a Bend Police officer on patrol near the intersection of NW Bond and Franklin says a black Dodge Challenger drove west through the intersection without stopping at the flashing red light, then accelerated north on Bond Street. 

The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop but Bend PD says they did not pursue due to safety concerns. The suspect was allegedly driving 70 MPH in a 20 MPH zone. The officer says the Challenger sped through the flashing red light at the intersection of Bond and Oregon, then continue along Bond through Greenwood Avenue before hitting something and going airborne. The vehicle collided with the steel pergola outside Deschutes County Circuit Court at 1100 NW Bond Street. 

The driver, identified as 30-year-old Timothy Bates of Bend, exited the Challenger. After an investigation and field sobriety tests, Bates was taken into custody on suspicion of DUII and was taken to St. Charles Bend for medical evaluation before being lodged at the Deschutes County Jail on charges of DUII, reckless driving and first-degree criminal mischief.