Hwy. 26 crash critically injures Redmond man

A Redmond man was critically injured Wednesday afternoon when his car crossed the center line of Highway 26 north of Prineville and collided with an oncoming semi truck, Oregon State Police said.

According to Senior Trooper Jed Rzegocki, shortly after 2 p.m., a 1990 Subaru wagon driven by Timothy Childress, 20, of Redmond, was eastbound on Highway 26 near milepost 11, between Madras and Prineville, when his car crossed the center line.

The Subaru collided with the side of a westbound commercial trailer being pulled by a truck driven by Dirk Graves, 57, of Bend.

Childress was flown by air ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, where he remained in critical condition Thursday morning.

The trooper said Childress was driving with a suspended license. Graves was unhurt in the crash, he said, adding that both drivers were wearing seat belts.

The highway was restricted to one lane for about three hours while troopers investigated at the scene.

Rzegocki is the lead investigator. No citations have been issued.

OSP was assisted at the scene by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County EMS, Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 and ODOT.