2 hurt in Hwy. 26 rollover crash west of Madras

Two Warm Springs residents were taken to a Madras hospital, then to one in Bend Tuesday after their car left Highway 26 and crashed about eight miles west of Madras, Oregon State Police said.

The crash occurred in one of the locations announced last week where OSP received an ODOT grant to provide overtime enforcement hours to prevent “roadway departure” crashes.

Around 12:40 p.m., a 2003 Oldsmobile four-door driven by Hazel Marie Wahpat, 57, was eastbound on Highway 26 near milepost 107, going through a sweeping left curve, when the car traveled onto the gravel shoulder, troopers said.

The driver tried steering back onto the highway, but lost control and it went off the eastbound shoulder, rolling at least once before coming to rest on its wheels off the highway.

Wahpat and passenger Leon C. Chase, 41, were both injured and taken by ambulance to St. Charles-Madras.

Wahpat later was flown to St. Charles-Bend and Chase was taken there as well. A hospital spokeswoman said both were in fair condition Tuesday evening.

OSP was assisted at the scene by Jefferson County EMS, Jefferson County Rural Fire Department, and Warm Springs Ambulance.

A “roadway departure crash” is defined as a non-intersection crash which occurs after a vehicle crosses an edge line or a center line, or otherwise leaves the traveled portion of the roadway.

Examples include crashing head-on, sideswiping another vehicle, and traveling off the highway and rolling over or colliding with a fixed object.

Information about the grant funding and targeted highways is available at:

http://www.oregon.gov/osp/NEWSRL/Pages/news/02_14_2013_roadway_departure_crash_grant.aspx