Prineville man, 73, dies in Redmond Hwy. 97 crash

(Update: OSP identifies driver killed in crash)

A 73-year-old Prineville man died Wednesday morning when his car went into the oncoming lanes and collided with a roofing truck on Highway 97 at Redmond’s south end, Oregon State Police reported. The crash and investigation closed the highway for more than three hours.

OSP and other emergency personnel responded to the crash around 9 a.m. at milepost 124, near the Yew Avenue/Airport Way interchange, OSP Sgt. Michael Berland said.

A preliminary investigation found that the Prineville man, identified as Richard James Lanning, was driving a silver 2005 Chevy Malibu northbound on the highway and crossed into the oncoming lanes, for unknown reasons.

Lanning’s car collided with an oncoming commercial vehicle owned by Bend Roof Truss and driven by a 48-year-old Bend man, Berland said.

Lanning suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.

The truck driver was taken to St. Charles Redmond for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, Berland said. A hospital spokeswoman said he was treated and released.

OSP was assisted at the scene by the Redmond and Bend police departments, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, ODOT and Redmond Fire and Rescue.

ODOT had urged drivers to seek other routes until the road reopened during the noon hour.

Around 10:15 a.m., another reportedly head-on crash blocked state Highway 126 in Redmond, near the junction with the Highway 97 reroute. Drivers were urged to find alternate routes. That highway reopened before noon.

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