Prineville driver hurt, cited in O’Neil Hwy. crash

A 52-year-old Prineville woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries and cited for drunk driving after a crash Friday evening on NW O’Neil Highway, said Crook County sheriff’s deputies.

Deputies were dispatched around 6:15 p.m. to the highway near milepost 13 on the reported single-vehicle crash, said Deputy Dan Smith.

They arrived to find a 2002 Dodge Dakota pickup blocking the highway’s eastbound lane, Smith said.

Deputies determined Theresa Nolen was driving the pickup eastbound “at a high rate of speed” when it drifted off the highway, according to Smith.

Nolen over-corrected and lost control of the pickup, which slid into an embankment at an angle, coming to rest in the road, he said.

The driver was taken by Crook County Fire and Rescue to Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Prineville for treatment of “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” Smith said.

Nolen was cited for driving under the influence of intoxicants. The investigation is ongoing, but Smith said “alcohol and inattentive driving are believed to be the primary factors involved in the crash.”

ODOT crews also assisted at the scene, the deputy said.