Aug. 27, 2026, 4:02 a.m. PT
Editor’s note: It is the policy of The Register-Guard not to name people accused of crimes that we will not follow through the court system.
A woman toting a hefty nitrous oxide tank crashed down an embankment and into a tree in Eugene on Aug. 25.
Eugene police arrested her after finding her car crashed near the intersection of Chambers Street and West 28th Avenue. Police say she had several other, smaller tanks inside her vehicle.
A Eugene police officer described the woman as “the most intoxicated impaired driver via nitrous oxide” they’d ever seen.
Officers were called to a welfare check near the intersection for a report of a vehicle parked in the middle of the roadway, according to Eugene Police Department spokesperson Chelsea Deffenbacher. The vehicle matched the description of a car that had reportedly been driving 2 miles per hour at Chambers Street and West 18th Avenue two hours earlier, but officers were unable to locate the vehicle at the time.
Upon arriving, the officer found the vehicle crashed into a large tree down an embankment. He noted in a report there was a “plethora” of fresh damage to the vehicle that was not a part of the crash.
The woman was in the driver’s seat next to a 15-pound nitrous oxide gas tank. A dozen or more cannisters were on the floorboards and in the backseat.
Jail records show the woman is no longer in custody and has not been charged by the Lane County District Attorney’s Office.
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas” or “whippets,” is a widely accessible recreational substance that induces rapid euphoric and hallucinogenic effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Repeated use can cause severe neurologic, cardiovascular, and psychiatric signs and symptoms.
In 2023, annual poison center exposures, emergency related visits and emergency medical service responses related to the misuse of nitrous oxide were four to five times what was reported in 2019, the CDC says.
Oregon law states businesses are prohibited from selling nitrous oxide cannisters from which an individual can directly inhale nitrous oxide to minors under the age of 18.
Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.
