Two teens hurt in NE Bend crash; driver cited

Two of four Bend teen-age boys in a speeding car were injured, one seriously, when the car side-swiped a parked car and struck a home’s porch and tree Friday in northeast Bend, police said. The 16-year-old driver was cited on numerous charges, from reckless driving to no driver’s license.

Police responded shortly before noon to the crash at NE Tucson Way and Red Oak Drive, near 27th Street and Neff Road, said Lt. Chris Carney.

A investigation found the 16-year-old was driving a black four-door VW Jetta with three passengers on Tucson Way “at a high rate of speed” and lost control of the car near Red Oak Drive, Carney said.

The car side-swiped a parked vehicle before leaving the road and striking the front porch pillar of a home on Red Oak Drive, the lieutenant said. The car stopped after hitting a tree near the home, Carney added.

A 17-year-old passenger, who is not believed to have been wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car and taken to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend with serious injuries, Carney said. A 15-year-old passenger also went to the hospital, with non-life-threatening injuries.

The car sustained major passenger-side damage and had to be towed from the scene, Carney said.

The crash remains under investigation, he said, and anyone with information was urged to contact Bend police at (541) 693-6911.

None of the teens’ names were released, because they were juveniles.

Due to the driver’s age, he was released to family members, with citations to appear in Deschutes County Circuit Court on the following charges: reckless driving, second- and fourth-degree assault, three counts of reckless endangering, second-degree criminal mischief, speed racing (an “exhibition of excessive acceleration”) and having no valid driver’s license.