Second Snowmobile Crashes Into Fall Creek; 2 Hurt

Two snowmobilers were taken to the hospital Sunday after their snowmobile went over a snow bank along the edge of Fall Creek, west of Bend, and crashed into the opposite side, throwing them both into the water. Authorities said it was the second such incident in the same spot in just over two weeks.

Despite both incidents happening at the same location, Deschutes County sheriff?s deputies say they aren?t sure if it?s a coincidence or points to a need for study, warning signs or the like.

Special Services Deputy Liam Klatt said it could have something to do with time of day, snow levels and the snow blending in across a large, flat open space, making the creek that flows to Sparks Lake hard to spot ? until it?s too late to stop.

Around 12:30 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the reported snowmobile crash on snowmobile Trail 5, west of Mt. Bachelor, said Special Services Deputy Liam Klatt.

Snowmobile operator William Myers, 42, of Bend, and passenger Dean Richards, 62, of Portland, were aboard a 1998 Arctic Cat when they crashed into the water where the trail intersects the creek, Klatt said.

At the request of a responding forest patrol deputy, a citizen loaned the deputy a spare snowmobile, speeding response to the crash scene, located where Trail 5 follows the path of the closed section of Century Drive during the winter, Klatt said.

The two men were flown by AirLink helicopter to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, where a nursing supervisor said they were treated and released.

The deputy said Myers was reported to be an experienced snowmobile rider, with knowledge of the area, but was unaware of his proximity to the creek.

Myers said he left Trail 5 shortly before the crash, to get into softer snow and attempt to cool off the snowmobile. Operating just south of the trail, Myers was unable to react in time to keep the snowmobile from going over the embankment along the edge of the creek.

Myers estimated his speed at about 40 mph at the time of the accident, Klatt said, adding that Richards was not wearing a helmet.

The crash remains under investigation, he said. Alcohol is not believed to be a contributing factor in the crash, Klatt added.

On March 24, two Arizona residents were taken by ambulance to the Bend hospital, one with serious injuries, after their snowmobile crashed into Fall Creek in the same spot, Klatt said.

Klatt noted that the area to the south is “a big, flat, open area, where Fall Creek winds its way down from the mountains into Sparks Lake.”

“If you’re not familiar with the area, it looks like a big, flat, open area,” he said. “Snowmobilers like to go fast in flat, open snow. We’ve had crashes within Fall Creek in the past, but the proximity to the (marked) Fall Creek Bridge is really odd.”

“They were both coming from the same direction, both spent some time at Elk Lake and were coming back, both at the same time of day. … But it didn’t happen last year — it’s not like every year, we have crashes in the same spot.”

“If you don’t know it’s there, and with the snowpack at the level that’s there above the creek, the snow blends in with the snow behind it — it’s just hard to see,” Klatt said. “We don?t know if lighting conditions played a factor. The bridge over Fall Creek is marked. The guardrail is marked in snow stakes, attached to the actual guardrail.”