Girl seriously injured in Crook County ATV crash

Two girls were injured, one seriously, when their ATV collided head-on with an SUV on a Crook County forest road Saturday afternoon, sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies were dispatched around 5:45 p.m. to Pioneer Memorial Hospital on a report of two juvenile females at the ER seeking medical treatment after a crash on Forest Service Road 33, about three miles from its junction with FS Road 27, said Deputy Mitch Madden.

An investigation at the hospital determined the two girls were riding an ATV together, along with one girl’s father on a separate ATV, Madden said.

The girls reportedly were in the middle of the road, negotiating a “blind downhill corner,” when they collided head-on with a blue Chevy Suburban that was coming uphill.

Niki Heller, 46, of Prineville, was at the wheel of the Suburban and tried to avoid the crash by “taking evasive maneuvers,” the deputy said.

One of the girls was thrown from the ATV and sustained serious injuries, while the other had minor injuries, Madden said, adding that both riders were wearing helmets at the time of the collision.

No citations were issued as a result of the crash, Madden added.