NW Bend crash critically injures driver
A 21-year-old Bend woman was critically injured early Friday morning when her car struck a curb on Mt. Washington Drive, rolled over the curb, rolled down an embankment and overturned, throwing her to the ground, police said.
Bend police and fire medics responded around 4:30 a.m. to the area of NW Mt. Washington Drive and Archie Briggs Road on the reported rollover crash, said Sgt. Ron Taylor.
Officers arrived to find a 1993 Ford Explorer off the north side of Mt. Washington and down about a 10-foot embankment, Taylor said. The SUV had rolled and the driver had been ejected.
A small fire broke out after the crash but was confined to the engine compartment, he added.
The driver, Seairra Brit Nelson, 21, was rushed to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend in critical condition, Taylor said.
“It appears alcohol is a factor involved in the crash,” Taylor said in a news release, adding that it’s not yet known if Nelson was wearing a seat belt.
An investigation found that Nelson was heading west on Mt. Washington when her SUV hit the curb on the north side of the road, went over the curb and down the embankment.
Mt. Washington Drive between Archie Briggs and Cottage Place was closed for about 4 hours while the crash was investigated.
Shortly before 8 a.m., a large semi-truck owned by 7 Peaks Paving and carrying a full load of asphalt overturned at the nearby intersection of Cottage Place and Constellation Drive, Taylor said.
The driver was in that area avoiding the road closure on Mt. Washington Drive, the sergeant said. As he turned onto Constellation Drive, the trailer’s rear tires hit the curb on the northwest side of the intersection, causing it to overturn and spill asphalt.
That crash and spill blocked Constellation Drive, forcing drivers onto alternate routes, Taylor said. That driver was unhurt and no citations were issued.
