An Oregon State Police report appearing in the March 3 edition of the News-Times stated that a Portland woman had been charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants after she crashed a Dodge Durango on Feb. 5 on Highway 229.

The woman named by OSP in that report, 30-year-old Amanda Rae McFetridge, later contacted the state police to say it wasn’t her driving the vehicle. After receiving that information, OSP conducted a follow-up investigation and determined that McFetridge was, in fact, a victim in this case and that the Dodge Durango had actually been driven by McFetridge’s cousin, Rebecca Ann Loehr, 32, of La Grande. 

According to an updated OSP report, McFetridge “had provided sufficient evidence showing her personal information had been used unlawfully during the night of the original crash on 2/5/2021. It was determined the driver had committed the crime of identity theft and giving false information to a police officer as she had been falsely identifying herself as her cousin.” 

OSP will be sending this information on to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office.