OSP identifies Bend man killed in rollover crash on snowy Highway 97 south of Sunriver

(Update: OSP releases name of driver, other crash details)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 54-year-old Bend man was killed in a rollover crash Wednesday morning on Highway 97 south of Sunriver as snow made for slick driving conditions, Oregon State Police said Thursday.

Troopers and other first responders were dispatched around 6:25 a.m. to the single-vehicle crash near milepost 154, north of Vandevert Road, troopers said.

A preliminary investigation found that Stanley Stephen Smith was driving a Jeep Wrangler heading north on the highway when he lost control, causing the SUV to leave the roadway and go into a ditch, troopers said.

The Jeep began to roll, authorities said, and Smith was thrown from the SUV, which ended up in the highway's wooded median.

First responders immediately initiated emergency medical treatment, but OSP said Smith died at the crash scene.

“The initial indicators point to roadway conditions as a major contributing factor to the crash,” OSP said in a news release.

State Police were assisted on scene by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and ODOT.

Because the vehicle ended up in the median, a full highway closure was not needed, ODOT Region 4 spokeswoman Kacey Davey said. The left-hand northbound lane was closed for a time.