Bend police seek suspect SUV in hit-and-run crash that injured 15-year-old riding e-bike

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Bend police sought information from the public Wednesday to help find a suspect in a hit-and-run crash in northeast Bend late Tuesday afternoon that injured a 15-year-old e-bike rider.

Police were dispatched around 4:25 p.m. Tuesday to the reported crash in the 2000 block of Northeast Highway 20, Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.

The cyclist was heading east in the bike lane on an electric bike when he crossed the west driveway of a small shopping plaza that includes Cibelli’s, Allure Nails and Double Tap Firearms, and struck the rear passenger side of a vehicle turning into the driveway from a center lane, Miller said.

The cyclist was thrown from the bike, she said, suffering a dislocated elbow and broken arm. The driver entered the parking lot, paused, then backed toward the east driveway and turned back onto the highway.

Officers reviewed surveillance video from a nearby business and determined the suspect vehicle likely was an older Jeep Grand Cherokee or Ford Escape, in a two-tone tan or gold, with darker paint on the bottom half, Miller said.

The force of the impact may have damaged the rear passenger side of the SUV, Miller said, adding that “it’s extremely unlikely the driver would not have known a collision occurred.” She noted that it is a crime to leave the scene of a crash without providing information to those involved.

Police asked anyone with information about the crash or suspect vehicle to call the Deschutes County dispatch non-emergency number at 541-693-6911.