Survivor of deadly Powell Butte Hwy. crash improves
A Prineville man remained in fair condition at a Bend hospital Sunday, two days after two men died a head-on crash of a car and SUV on Powell Butte Highway northeast of Bend.
One driver’s dog also was killed in the crash late Friday afternoon, which shut the road near Pronghorn Resort for about four hours.
Around 4:45 p.m., a green 1994 Honda Accord driven by Richard Patterson, 21, was heading southwest on the highway, toward Bend, when “for an unknown reason” it drifted over the center line and crashed head-on into a blue 1996 Chevy Suburban driven by Ryan Reed, 35, of Prineville, heading northeast toward Prineville, said sheriff’s Lt. Bryan Husband.
Reed was unable to avoid the Honda and the two collided in the eastbound lane, Husband said.
The crash occurred in near darkness on a straight, dry stretch of two-lane highway near milepost 10, close to the entrance to Pronghorn Resort.
A right-front passenger in the Suburban, Stephen Harnden, 65, of Prineville, was pronounced dead at the crash scene, Husband said. The Accord’s driver, Patterson, was flown by AirLink helicopter to St. Charles Bend, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Reed, the SUV driver, was in serious condition late Friday at the Bend hospital, according to a nursing supervisor, but had improved to fair condition late Saturday. A right-rear passenger in the Suburban, Stephen’s son, Joseph Harnden, 35, was treated at the hospital and released.
Deputies arrived on the scene shortly before 5 p.m. and were assisted by Oregon State Police, Bend and Crook County fire medics and the county Road Department.
All of the occupants of the two vehicles were wearing their seat belts at the time of the collision, Husband said.
The driver’s side air bag deployed in the Suburban, as did the airbags in the Accord, both of which received heavy front end damage and were removed from the scene by Consolidated Towing.
Patterson was traveling with his tan pit bull, which was found dead inside the car, Husband said.
The lieutenant noted that vehicle speeds have not yet been determined.
Initial reports from the scene indicated several people were trapped in the wreckage. CPR was performed on at least one person.
