Three injured as SUV, bus, collide in NE Bend

Two Cascades East Transit riders and a Redmond woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries Thursday afternoon when an SUV and a bus carrying nine people collided at an intersection near St. Charles Bend, police said.

Officers were dispatched around 2 p.m. to the crash at the intersection of NE Neff Road and Medical Center Drive, said Lt. Nick Parker. Initial reports indicated there were injuries and at least one person trapped in a vehicle.

Police found a gray Ford Explorer driven by Patty Ann Henkemeyer, 72, of Redmond, had collided at the intersection with the CET bus driven by Lisa Marie Davis, 47, of La Pine.

As it turned out, none of the nine people on the bus or two occupants of the Explorer were trapped, Parker said.

Bend Fire medics took two of the bus passengers to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The bus driver was unhurt and the SUV’s driver was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

The intersection remained partially blocked over an hour after the collision. Drivers were urged to find alternate routes.

The crash was one of two that tied up traffic on major routes in the area around the same time Thursday afternoon.

A four-vehicle apparent-injury crash blocked state Highway 126 at the Cline Falls Bridge west of Redmond.

Oregon State Police said four people from three of the vehicles were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. More details are due for release later.

We’ll have more details as available and a report tonight on NewsChannel 21 at Five and Six.