MEDFORD, Ore.– A pilot and passenger who were on board a small plane that crashed into a Medford neighborhood Saturday afternoon are now behind bars.The plane went down Saturday along Whittle Avenue and Grandview Avenue, just south of the Rogue Valley airport, striking several trees and sliding along several neighbors front yards before coming to a stop. No neighbors were hurt.
Melissa Oar, a resident who lives right around the corner from where the crash occurred, said the two men were able to get out of the plane but had what seemed to be some serious injuries.
“The one gentleman had, I think, lost some of his front teeth. So we put pressure, my husband Michael put pressure on his mouth,” she said. “I had him do that. The other gentleman had an injury to his ear and he had a laceration to his arm.”
Much of this incident is still under investigation. Witnesses claimed there was marijuana on the plane but no one made allegations that the pilots were under the influence.
After the crash, NBC5 News learned the men who crashed, Zachary Wayne Moore and Matthew William Thompson, were arrested on drug charges and lodged in the Jackson County Jail Sunday night.
Detectives with the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team, Medford police, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office are working with federal agencies to investigate the drug involvement with the plane crash.
The investigation is ongoing.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.