Terrebonne crash of 2 SUVs sends 4 to hospital

It took over a half-hour to cut away wreckage, free occupants

TERREBONNE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Three people freed by rescuers from the wreckage of an SUV were among four taken to St. Charles Redmond for evaluation after two SUVs collided on U.S. Highway 97 in the Terrebonne area on Thanksgiving morning, fire officials said.

Redmond Fire & Rescue crews were called to the highway at Northwest 10th Street around 10:30 a.m. after the T-bone crash of two SUVs on the snowy highway, Battalion Chief Garrick Terry said.

Three people were trapped in a Ford Explorer and required extrication, while one person was injured in the other SUV, Terry said. One person in the Explorer was pinned between the center console, the dash and the driver-side door, he added.

"The Explorer had been pushed up against the guardrail, making access to the driver's side of the car extremely difficult," Terry said in a news release.

It took about 35 minutes to extricate and free all of the Explorer's occupants, he said.

Assistance was provided at the scene by Oregon State Police, Deschutes County sheriff's deputies, ODOT and Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue.

No further details have been provided by OSP.