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An allegedly drunk driver, presumably with poor reading comprehension skills, crashed into a truck bearing an anti-drunk driving sign in Salem over the weekend.

(Denis Lafferty)

When an SUV crashed through the fence at Denis Lafferty's collision repair shop at the corner of Pringle Road and Hoyt Street in April, the owner of the shop was fed up.

It was at least the 10th time someone had misjudged the curve on the corner outside his shop and in the decade he's been at the location in Salem, many of them allegedly under the influence of alcohol, Lafferty said. In the April crash, an SUV had come barreling through the fence, flipped over and wrecked four cars on the lot.

As a bit of a public safety campaign, and with the help of a friend who does vinyl lettering, Lafferty affixed the words "DON'T DRINK & DRIVE!" in huge red letters to a truck in the lot facing the street.

Nonetheless, Lafferty was awoken early Saturday morning by a call from Salem police with the news that not only had someone once again crashed through the fence, which the owner of the yard had just finished installing the previous day, they had landed in the bed of the truck with the message displayed on the side.

"I guess they didn't read the sign," Lafferty said Tuesday.

Police responded and took into custody Eric Clifford Jones, a 46-year-old Monmouth resident, on suspicion of driving under the influence, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.

He was not injured in the crash.

Lafferty said he planned to leave the now-wrecked truck where it sits, if for no other reason than to act as barrier to protect the other cars in his lot should someone else fail to heed the warning sign.

-- Kale Williams

kwilliams@oregonian.com

503-294-4048