SUV slams into Bend home; DUII driver arrested

Two southeast Bend residents had a loud awakening early Sunday when an alleged drunk driver slammed his SUV into the corner of their home and was arrested, police said. There were no injuries, they added.

Officers responded about 1:20 a.m. to the reported crash in the 800 block of SE Sixth Street, said Sgt. Ron Taylor. They were told an SUV had left the road and struck a home.

Officers learned Cesar Carmona Vences, 21, of Bend, was alone in the green 2000 Dodge Durango heading north on Sixth Street, south of Roosevelt Avenue, Taylor said.

Before reaching the stop sign at that corner, Carmona Vences turned the SUV left for an unknown reason, causing it to leave the road, the sergeant said.

The Durango struck two large lava rocks in a front yard before striking the corner of the home, Taylor said, causing extensive damage to both the SUV and the house, occupied at the time by a 32-year-old man and 30-year-old woman.

One of the residents is Mary Schellert,who later talked to NewsChannel 21.

“That’s my best friend’s bedroom,” Schellert said, pointing to the damage. “(On) any other night of the week, she would have been in there — any other night of the week. That’s what scares me. And her head would have been right there.”

After the crash, Schellert walked out of the home and called 911.

She says items were knocked over in the house due to the crash, which even caused the bed in the damaged room to slide to the other side.

Schellert says she doesn’t know what to do now with the damage.

“I have a hole in my house. What am I supposed to do?” she said. “That’s not safe. If somebody really wants to get in there, they can. (Then) there’s snow and there’s animals — I mean, there is so many things that is just not right with that.”

Alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor in the crash, Taylor said.

Carmona Vences was lodged at the Deschutes County Jail and held on $7,500 bail, facing a misdemeanor DUII charge as well as reckless driving and two counts of reckless endangering. He was released later in the day to a responsible third party.

He’s also facing two violations, for refusing a breath test and driving without insurance, Taylor said.