Corvallis Woman Critically Injured In Hwy. 20 Crash

Deschutes County sheriff?s deputies on Saturday identified three other people injured, one critically, in a three-car crash late Friday afternoon on Hwy. 20W near Black Butte Ranch.

Joan Cook, 67, of Corvallis, remained in critical condition Saturday evening at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, according to a nursing supervisor.

Cook’s car veered into the oncoming lane near Black Butte Ranch and crashed into two SUVs, sending them off the road and seven people to the hospital, also causing a miles-long backup for three hours as the holiday weekend began.

Deschutes County sheriff?s deputies, Oregon State Police, Black Butte Ranch Police and ODOT were dispatched to the crash near milepost 93, just east of Black Butte Ranch, around 4:40 p.m., said sheriff?s Lt. Kevin Dizney.

When deputies arrived, they found Cook’s Toyota Avalon in the middle of the road, a Chevy Suburban that rolled at least once off the westbound shoulder, partly in the westbound lane, and a Toyota Sequoia off the road, also on the west shoulder, Dizney said.

An AirLink helicopter landed at Black Butte Ranch and flew Cook to the Bend hospital. The six people in the two SUVs were taken to the hospital by ambulance, but all were treated and released later that day, hospital officials said.

The four people in the Sequoia — driver Leonard Todd Wilson, 39, of Bend, wife Erika, also 39, and children Keira, 6, and Cade, 3 — were evaluated at the St. Charles ER Friday night, a nursing supervisor said. So were the driver of the Suburban, identified as Bruce Grove, 47, of Lebanon, and his son and passenger, Tyler Grove, 24, also of Lebanon.

Wilson posted a note on KTVZ.COM late Friday night to report that his family members “are all okay and out of the hospital.”

“I would like to thank the bystanders who helped us and the rescue personnel as well,” he wrote. “Thank you for your thoughts and concern. We are certainly very lucky. We also hope everyone else involved is alright.”

In another KTVZ.COM comment posting, Tyler Grove said he and his father were released from the hospital around 9 p.m. Friday.

“It’s a miracle that we walked out of the ER,” he said, offering “thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.”

Dizney said an initial investigation determined that Cook’s eastbound Avalon crossed into the oncoming lane, for unknown reasons. The Avalon crashed into the rear quarter-panel of the westbound Suburban, driven by Grove, who Dizney said tried to move to the shoulder to avoid the crash.

The impact caused the Suburban to slide sideways and roll off the westbound shoulder, coming to rest on its wheels on the highway shoulder, the lieutenant said.

The Avalon then continued into the path of the Sequoia, whose driver also veered toward the shoulder, and they collided nearly head-on, Dizney said.

Both lanes were blocked for about 45 minutes while medics were on scene. One lane of travel reopened then, and flaggers then let traffic through the eastbound lane in alternating directions for more than two hours. Traffic backed up at least three miles in both directions before the lanes reopened after 7 p.m.

Dizney said drugs and alcohol were not believed to be factors in the crash. Deputies said late Saturday that no citations have been issued at this time, but the investigation is ongoing.

Black Butte Ranch resident Charles Kingsbaker said in Twitter postings that “Danny da Labradoodle” went missing from the crash — but a short time later, he was reported found.