Bend police investigate car/e-bike hit-and-run crash

Head hit ground, cracking helmet; went to ER

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend police said Monday they are investigating a hit-and-run crash between a car and an electric bike that occurred at a northeast Bend intersection Sunday evening. 

Parker Bowers, 18, was traveling in the bike lane on an e-bike, with his lights on, when he was hit by a car and knocked into the middle of the street at Northeast Ninth Street and Penn Avenue.. 

Bowers said his head hit the ground after he was struck by the car, and his helmet cracked all the way through. He was taken to the St. Charles Bend emergency room for treatment of a broken toe, road rash and a possible concussion, a family member said. 

Bowers' mother, Kristen Holton, said her son described the car as a white or silver new sedan, and said the suspected driver's name is Michael.

Holton said the driver did stop after the collision, but told her son he did not want to call police, after being asked several times. She said Michael told her son, "I don't think we need to do that -- you seem fine." The driver provided a phone number he claimed he could be reached at, but police said the number actually belonged to an elderly woman named Wendy. Michael also did not provide any insurance information. 

"Someone could have been killed by lack of not paying attention," Holton said. "My son was in the correct bike lane, he was going the correct way -- obeying the law, with lights on and helmet -- and he was hit. It could have been worse. It's a scary call to have, as a mom." 

Both the e-bike and the car were damaged, A report was filed with police, who are in the process of issuing a subpoena for the traffic camera footage at Ninth and Penn. 

Lt. Juli McConkey said the incident is being treated as a hit-and-run, despite the driver stopping, due to the lack of information provided. 

“Hopefully, we can get more information from the camera system, as well as anyone who is watching the news can hopefully report if they have seen a vehicle in the area," McConkey said. "Or maybe they were a witness to the incident that happened, and they can give a better description of the vehicle and a license plate." 

Holton said it's the second time her son has been hit by a car, almost a year to the day after the first. 

"There is no reason that you can't wait an extra second to make sure," if involved in such a crash, Holton said. "We can't be in that big of a rush in our lives, where we put someone else at risk because we need to get someplace. It's not worth a life."