Redmond woman injured in Hwy. 126 crash

A 27-year-old Redmond woman was seriously injured early Thursday when her SUV left Highway 126 just west of Redmond, struck a power pole and overturned, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies were dispatched shortly after 4 a.m. to the reported crash on Highway 126 at Helmholtz Way, said Sgt. Kevin Dizney. They arrived to find the highway blocked and a Nissan X-Terra had struck a metal power pole, damaging it. The SUV rolled and came to rest upside down in the middle of the road, Dizney said.

Driver Rachael Allmand-Abarca was taken by Redmond ambulance to St. Charles Redmond for treatment, Dizney said. She later was moved to St. Charles Bend, where she remained in serious condition Thursday afternoon, according to hospital officials.

Dizney said alcohol and distracted driving appear to be factors in the crash, but the investigation is continuing.

Both lanes were blocked for about an hour and traffic rerouted around the crash during the clean-up and investigation. Central Electric Cooperative also was advised of the crash, but a spokesman said no outages occurred.

Dizney said an investigation found that Allmand-Abarca was heading west on the highway and “may have attempted to reach for a cellphone, at which time she lost control, causing the SUV to strike the power pole,” Dizney wrote in a news release.

The crash left the woman trapped in the overturned SUV, Dizney said, Redmond fire crews had to cut the woman out of the wreckage to free her. The SUV later was towed from the scene.

Traffic was rerouted around the crash scene for about an hour, and the road fully reopened around 6 a.m.