Two injured in 5-vehicle Hwy. 97 crash N. of Bend

A Madras motorcyclist and a Bend driver were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Wednesday evening after a five-vehicle chain-reaction crash on Highway 97 north of Bend, Oregon State Police reported.

Troopers said the crash occurred around 6:20 p.m. near milepost 130 and Deschutes Junction and all five vehicles, including the motorcycle, were heading north.

They said the series of events began when a pickup driver stopped in the left northbound lane and a Jeep stopped behind it. A GMC Suburban then hit the rear of the Jeep, sending it crashing into the pickup in front of it.

A motorcycle operated by Phillip Mendiguren, 41, of Madras, struck the side of a Toyota Rav 4 and then the rear of the Suburban, troopers said.

Mendiguren and the Suburban driver, Kathleen Fellows, 51, of Bend, were taken to St. Charles Bend. The motorcyclist remained hospitalized Thursday, listed in good condition, according to a house supervisor.