Hwy. 20 Head-On Crash Sends 2 Drivers to Hospital

Two Bend residents were injured when their cars collided head-on Saturday morning on U.S. Highway 20 about five miles west of Bend, shutting the road for nearly two hours, authorities said.

Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Tim Holbrook said that around 8:30 a.m., a 2009 Chevy Aveo driven by Vanessa Maddox, 20, of Bend, was eastbound on the highway near Fryrear Road, about eight miles east of Sisters, when it drifted into the oncoming, westbound lane for an unknown reason.

Maddox?s car collided head-on with a 1995 Toyota Camry four-door driven by David O?Conner, 47, of Bend, Holbrook said. Both were alone in their cars.

Cloverdale Rural Fire District crews responded to the crash and Deputy Chief John Thomas was incident commander. Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District and Bend Fire crews also responded to the scene and helped use hydraulic rescue tools to cut the victims out of the wreckage, said Sisters-Camp Sherman Deputy Chief Jeremy Ast.

The trooper said both drivers were wearing their seat belts.

O?Conner was flown by Life Flight helicopter to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, while Maddox was taken there by ground ambulance, the OSP reported.

A St. Charles nursing supervisor said Saturday evening that both drivers were in fair condition.

Deschutes County sheriff?s deputies and ODOT crews also responded to assist at the scene. The crash and investigation caused lengthy traffic backups.