By FireRescue1 Staff
LANE COUNTY, Ore. — Police are asking the public for help in finding the person responsible for a hit-and-run that resulted in the hospitalization of a wildland firefighter.
KVAL reported that John Houdeshell, 71, was walking to his hotel Sept. 3 after working on the Terwilliger fire when he was hit by a vehicle, which then fled.
Houdeshell was transported to the hospital and is now in the ICU. He is expected to remain hospitalized for the next two months.
There were no witnesses in the incident, but police said a side-view mirror was left on the scene that appears to belong to a 2004-2010 Toyota Sienna Minivan, with a possible grayish color.
“Somebody knows what happened, somebody knows somebody who’s got a damaged Toyota Sienna minivan with a missing mirror all the sudden,” Oregon State Police Sgt. Elijah Chambers said. “Or missing headlight and they know something isn’t right, we’re urging those people to come forward to help us figure out who the driver was.”
Police currently have no leads in the case, but they have been in contact with surrounding auto-body shops.