Harrowing Accident Scene on S. Oregon Coast Turns Into Search for Driver and Arrest

Published 04/13/26 at 12:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Coquille, Oregon) – A crash on a south Oregon coast road Friday night was the cause of considerable damage, and resulted in a search for the vehicle's owner that lasted about a day. (Photos Coos County Sheriff's Office)

The Coos County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating a late-night crash that left a truck overturned down an embankment and caused significant damage along Fairview Road on Friday, April 10.

The area is about 10 miles SE of Coos Bay.

Deputies on the south Oregon coast were dispatched around 11:38 p.m. to the area near Milepost 5 after a caller reported a vehicle had struck a pole, leaving a utility line on the ground. Responders arrived to find a utility line hanging between two poles and blocking the roadway, a sheared-off pole, multiple destroyed road signs, a heavily damaged guardrail, and a red 2025 Chevy Silverado resting upside down roughly 60 feet down an embankment. The vehicle was unoccupied.

Deputies determined the truck was registered to 60-year-old Craig Gurney. A search of the area and checks with friends and family were unsuccessful in locating him overnight.

Gurney was contacted the following afternoon at about 3:17 p.m. on Middle Creek. After further investigation, he was arrested on charges of Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver and second-degree Criminal Mischief. He was booked into the Coos County Jail and later released.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with additional information about the crash to contact investigators.

Other Recent Similar Incidents:

Salem Man Arrested on Central Oregon Coast's Lincoln City for Allegedly Menacing with Gun Replica - He was also charged with possession of drugs

Beaverton Man Injured After Falling 20 Feet Off South Oregon Coast's Sisters Rock - He had knocked out teeth, hard difficulty breathing after falling into a sea cave

Destructive Road Rage in NW Oregon and South Coast Case End Horribly for Dogs - Dog in Coos Bay shot and left for dead. Hillsboro vehicle kills dog in bizarre act of road rage

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