SUTHERLIN - A Washington man's strange trip along Interstate 5 ended Monday night when police found 23 pounds of marijuana in his car shortly after he hit a deer and drove right past a state trooper who witnessed the crash, police said.
The car's driver, Christopher R. Goheen of Olympia, first ran intotrouble about 9 p.m. when his 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo struck the deer near Sutherlin, just south of a spot along the freeway where a trooper had pulled over another vehicle, police said.
Instead of stopping at the scene, Goheen drove past the trooper, who chased down the car and stopped it about seven miles north of the collision, police said.
The trooper gave chase because he suspected the Chevrolet's drivermay have been drunk, state police Lt. Doug Ladd said.
"It was odd that (Goheen) didn't stop, with a police officer rightthere with his lights on," Ladd said.
After stopping Goheen's car near Metz Hill, the trooper smelled marijuana in the vehicle and decided to investigate further, Ladd said.
A drug-detection dog arrived and helped troopers recover about 23 pounds of marijuana from the car's trunk, police said.
Goheen, 26, was being held Tuesday in the Douglas County Jail on charges of possessing and delivering marijuana.
Police estimated the street value of the seized marijuana at $57,000.
Ladd said the deer died after being hit by Goheen's car.
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