A motorist accused of striking a Marion County sheriff's patrol car and killing a deputy during a head-on crash 10 years ago is now behind bars.

The fugitive, De Jesus Ascencio , fled to Mexico after the June 16, 2007 crash killed deputy Kelly Fredinburg on Highway 99E., according to the sheriff's office.

Ascencio was indicted on two counts of criminal negligent homicide. He fled to Mexico before being arraigned on the charges.

In 2010, the Marion County District Attorney's Office successfully pursued the filing of an arrest warrant in Mexico, for Ascencio to be prosecuted by the Mexican judicial system.

On Jan. 20, Ascencio was arrested on that warrant in the state of Puebla in Mexico. He was transported to Baja, California, where he was released accidentally one month later.

On Thursday, Oregon state police learned that Ascencio, 29, was re-arrested in Michoacán on an arrest warrant. The head-on crash killed the sheriff's deputy after his patrol car caught fire. Fredinburg, 33, died at the scene. A passenger in Ascencio's vehicle, Oscar Ascencio Amaya, 19, also died in the crash, authorities said.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office, the county district attorney's office, the FBI in Salem and Mexico City, Interpol, the Mexican Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Embassy have been involved in the investigation.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian