Three Albany men have been arrested following an Oct. 11 incident in which an unidentified Arizona man was struck by a vehicle and stabbed near milepost 20 on Quartzville Road outside of Sweet Home.
According to Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan, the Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at around 6:08 a.m. that morning from a trucking dispatch center, which reported that a truck operator had radioed with news of the incident.
Deputies responded to the scene, where the operator flagged them down and provided additional details. The victim, a 36-year-old male transient, was found and transported to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, then taken by Life Flight to the Good Samaritan Regional Center in Corvallis. Although he suffered life-threatening injuries, the Sheriff’s Office said, he was expected to survive.
Investigators determined that the man traveled to the Quartzville area with a group of people that included John Kersey, a 72-year-old transient from Albany. The men had allegedly gotten into an argument before Kersey got into a vehicle and rammed the victim, then jumped out and stabbed him several times. According to the Sheriff’s Office, no one at the campsite provided medical attention to the injured man, who was able to walk 250 feet before the truck operator found him.
Kersey was subsequently arrested and lodged at the Linn County Jail for first-degree assault. Detectives arrested two additional men Friday, Oct. 14: 38-year-old Carl William Serpa and 30-year-old Michael Allen Kulp, both of Albany. Both were also charged with first-degree assault.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone who was traveling in the area during the late hours of Oct. 10 to the early hours of Oct. 11 is encouraged to contact Detective Scott Tennant at (541) 967-3950.