Two Bend drivers jailed on DUII charges after crash

Drunk-driving crashes and arrests are not all that unusual in Bend, but one early Thursday morning led to the arrest of not one, but two drivers – the second allegedly following the other to make sure he made it home safely, police said.

Miguel Angel Ortega, 20, and Erick Medrano Leyva, 19, both of Bend, were arrested on DUII and other charges around 3 a.m. near the roundabout at Northeast Butler Market Road and Eighth Street, said Lt. Clint Burleigh.

Ortega was trying to navigate the traffic circle when his vehicle left the roadway and crashed through the roundabout’s planter area, then into a cinder-block wall and through a residential fence on Eighth Street, hitting two cargo trailers parked behind the fence, Burleigh said.

Police called to the scene found Ortega was intoxicated. Burleigh said Leyva was contacted by investigators and found to be driving a second car, also impaired, and following Ortega to make sure he made it home safely.

Both men were arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail on DUII charges. Ortega also faces two counts of second-degree criminal mischief and reckless driving; his bail totaled $20,000. Leva, who also is charged with misdemeanor driving with a suspended license, was held on $10,000 bail.

“The Bend Police Department would like to remind the community that driving under the influence of intoxicants is dangerous to everyone who shares our roads,” Burleigh said in a news release. “We are committed to making the community safe by enforcing all aspects of traffic safety.”