Bend teen, 17, arrested in fatal Wickiup Reservoir plunge that killed passenger, 16, injured 3 others

La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 17-year-old Bend resident was arrested on criminally negligent homicide, DUII and other charges after a pickup he was driving on the dry bed of Wickiup Reservoir late Monday night plunged into the water and sank, killing one passenger and inuring three others, two seriously, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

The sheriff’s office received a report shortly before midnight of a crash at Wickiup Reservoir, west of La Pine, Sgt. Jayson Janes said. The reservoir is currently only 19% full, the US Bureau of Reclamation reports.

Deputies found a 2008 Ford F-150 pickup truck completely underwater, Janes said. They learned five Bend teens, ages 16 and 17, had been in the truck when it crashed into the water, and all but one, a 16-year-old male, had been able to get out.

Two passengers with serious injuries, 16- and 17-year-old males, were taken by ambulance to St. Charles Bend. A third passenger, a 17-year-old female, was taken to the hospital by private vehicle with non-life-threatening injuries, Janes said.

“During the investigation, deputies determined the driver had been under the influence of alcohol and driving recklessly on the lakebed at the time of the crash,” Janes said in a news release.

The teen was lodged at the county’s Juvenile Detention Center on charges of criminally negligent homicide, DUII alcohol, reckless endangering and reckless driving, the sergeant said.

The case remains active, Janes said, and no more information will be released at this time.

The sheriff’s office was assisted on the scene by a Search and Rescue dive team, Bend police, the Deschutes County Medical Examiner’s Office and the La Pine Rural Fire District.