Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation

The Register-Guard reports: A 25-year-old man, identified by Eugene Police as a “prolific car thief” who has a lengthy criminal record, was arrested for hitting and severely injuring a bicyclist with a stolen truck.

Steven Ronald Fischer is accused of striking a 40-year-old female bicyclist on May 20 near 15th Avenue and High Street. The bicyclist sustained severe injuries, requiring multiple surgeries.

Police say Fischer left the scene of the crash and abandoned the stolen truck in a nearby parking lot. Police discovered a rental contract inside the stolen vehicle for a storage unit Fischer had rented and viewed surveillance video of the storage facility. Fischer was seen arriving in the stolen truck, leading investigators to obtain a search warrant for the unit, according to a news release.

[PHOTO: The scene of bicyclist versus vehicle crash at 15th Avenue and High Street in Eugene on May 20, 2026.]

The Eugene Police Department’s street crimes unit located property from multiple stolen vehicles during the search, according to Melinda McLaughlin, spokesperson for EPD.

On June 1, an EPD officer found an unoccupied stolen vehicle and spotted Fischer nearby. Fischer attempted to get away on a bicycle but was located and arrested a short time later.

Fischer was lodged at the Lane County Jail on multiple counts of unlawful use of a vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, failure to perform duties of a driver to injured persons and third-degree assault.

“Fischer has an extensive criminal history and had only been out of prison a matter of months,” McLaughlin said. “The list of cases cleared with Fischer’s arrest is a testament to the coordination and cooperation among department members working out of various offices at EPD.”

Fischer is suspected in at least seven open cases related to stolen vehicles, McLaughlin said.

Court records show Fischer has four open cases in Lane County Circuit Court. A Lane County grand jury indicted him on two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, one count of failing to perform duties of a driver to a seriously injured person and third-degree assault. He’s also been charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, felon in possession of a restricted weapon, possession of a burglary tool or device, second-degree criminal trespass, possession of methamphetamine, and more.

Fischer has a lengthy criminal record which dates back in Lane County to 2019. He has a list of convictions ranging from possession of prohibited fi****ms and a silencer to criminal trespass, eluding an officer, fourth-degree assault, first-degree theft, unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of methamphetamine.

Read the full story: bit.ly/4aQAOpW

Eugene police arrested a prolific car thief accused of hitting a bicyclist with a stolen truck and fleeing the scene. See link below ⬇️

📸 Haleigh Kochanski