FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  

DATE: May 31, 2023

Stolen vehicle incident turns into hit and run

Salem, Ore. — Officers arrested a 42-year-old man Tuesday morning, May 30, after a stolen vehicle incident turns into a hit and run.

At approximately 7:20 a.m., Salem Police officers responded to the McDonald’s Restaurant in the 1000 block of Lancaster DR NE when witnesses reported a man hit by a delivery truck. Officers located the driver of the delivery vehicle, a 67-year-old man, with injuries in the parking lot. 

Officers learned a delivery driver in a box truck was standing outside his vehicle when an unknown man got inside the truck and drove away, running over the delivery driver as the man fled the scene. As the  suspect fled in the stolen truck, he struck another vehicle and caused damage in the business’ parking lot. A short time later, the suspect in the stolen truck was reported driving recklessly on northbound Interstate-5. The suspect eluded several regional agencies who pursued the stolen vehicle, but ultimately came to a stop when he crashed in the area of US-22E and Young Street in Woodburn. 

The suspect, identified as Eloy Tello, was the sole occupant of the stolen truck and was arrested. He was lodged at the Marion County Jail on charges related to hit and run, assault, vehicle theft, and driving under the influence of intoxicants. Tello is due to be arraigned today at 2:30 p.m. at the Marion County Criminal Court Annex.

The hit and run victim, Gary Mark Adams, was transported to Salem Health with non-life-threatening injuries; however, he was subsequently transferred to a Portland-area hospital for further medical care. 

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