Bend Crash Victim’s Family Praying for Healing

In the blink of an eye, John Hale lost his younger brother.

He knows Dean is resting in peace. Now he’s focusing all his faith on Patty, Dean’s wife, who’s clinging to life in the St. Charles-Bend ICU, three days after a horrific head-on car crash west of Bend that also killed the other driver.

“People on the coast don’t understand Bend,” Hale, who lives in the Seattle area, said Tuesday. “But Bend is a family, and it’s Dean and Patty’s family.

“We believe that if prayer can turn a tornado, it can turn a prayer for our Patty — a miracle of healing. We want everyone in town to be praying for that healing.”

Dean and Patty were married for nearly 20 years, John said. He had a degree in biology and worked as a carpenter in town.

Instead of being angry at the other driver,33-year-old Jesus Larios, who was also killed in the crash, Hale says he doesn’t blame him.

“Obviously, he didn’t do it on purpose,” John Hale said. “It was just a bad mistake he made. And we feel just as bad for his family as we do for our family.

A memorial for Dean was planned for this weekend — but not without Patty, John Hale said.

“We’re not going to do it unless a miracle happens,” he said. “And we’re going to pray that the miracle happens fast.”

Dean also leaves behind a sister, son and two grandchildren. But the family is hoping and praying his memory can live on through Patty.

“We have absolute faith this is going to happen — we don’t even have a doubt,” John Hale said. “It’s a miracle she even survived this thing, and that’s why we know it’s a miracle.”

Around 6:45 p.m. Saturday, a 2001 Nissan Sentra four-door driven by Jesus Ramirez Larios, 33, of Pasco, was westbound on Hwy. 20W near milepost 9, between Bend and Sisters, when it crossed the center line and collided head-on with an eastbound 2006 Subaru station wagon driven by Dean Hale, 62, of Bend, said Sgt. David MacKenzie.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, the sergeant said.

Hale was a former president and founding board member of the East Cascades Audubon Society, also active as a field trip organizer and volunteer coordinator, members said.

He had a passion for birds, friend Mary Yanalacanlin said Monday.

“It was a total shock,” Yanalacanlin said of the fatal crash. “Dean was definitely a go- to-guy for the Audubon Society, because he was the one you called if there were rare birds to report. He was the one you called when you wanted to volunteer. He was very much a part of the backbone of the society.”

Society members are missing the man who they said liked to joke, laugh and teach.

“He’s gone on, and all we have left are our stories and our memories,” Yanalacanlin said. “I’m going to miss you, Dean — we all are.”

Friends also are keeping Hale?s wife, Patricia Meehan, 59, of Bend, in their thoughts and prayers. She’s a banjo player in a local band called The Prairie Rockets.

Meehan was flown by Life Flight helicopter to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, where she remained in critical condition Monday afternoon, according to hospital officials.

According to bandmate Aspen Clayton, both Dean and Patty have been like family.

Patty works at the Wild Birds Unlimited in Bend. Clayton said she has a great voice.

According to Clayton, the two were on their way back from visiting a friend to take part in a parade for St. Patrick’s Day.

“I would like to tell the community to whatever god they pray to or however they do their thing, to just send love and support to Patty,” Clayton told NewsChannel 21. “I just know she’s going to be okay, and that Dean was happy when he died. He had a really good time yesterday. He’s going to be really missed. Patty is going to need our support and love now.”

For more information about Meehan’s condition, and to sign a guest book: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/pattymeehan.

One witness at the crash scene said he believes the stretch of Highway 20 is dangerous and was poorly engineered. But ODOT spokesman Peter Murphy said Monday that the road is safe.

“It was a passing zone for this particular crash, an established zone, and plenty of sight distance,” Murphy said. “But the investigation is still under way, so we don’t really know if there was passing involved or anything else.”

The Bend couple were wearing seat belts, but Larios was not, troopers said, adding that air bags deployed in both cars.

The highway was shut for about four hours during the investigation. There was no immediate word on what factors may have led to the collision, as the investigation continued.

OSP troopers were helped at the scene by Deschutes County sheriff?s deputies, ODOT, and fire medics from the Cloverdale, Sisters-Black Butte and Bend fire departments.

A Central Oregon woman who had two sons coming back from rugby matches in Portland told NewsChannel 21 they were in front of the car that was struck and that the crash did not occur in a passing zone. She said the driver “was swerving into the lane, back and forth,” and almost hit her sons’ car.

The crash was reported in the area of the viewpoint where motorists can pull off the highway into a parking area and view the Three Sisters.

Sister resident Tom Jones, who saw the accident, tells NewsChannel 21 that he believes the stretch of highway is dangerous because of a dip in the road, making it difficult for drivers to see when they are passing.

“I wasn’t very far back,” Jones said. “I was surprised in a sense, but really not surprised. I’ve been expecting it for a long time. I travel this road every day.”

“It’s unfortunate that this should happen,” said Jones. “I think ODOT needs to do something about the passing zone here. I think it was probably antiquated when traffic didn’t travel at 70 miles an hour. But now, it’s just plain dangerous.”