Cleaning crew steps in to help after violent crash

A Bend cleaning crew was on their way to a job in Sunriver on Saturday afternoon when they came upon the aftermath of a violent head-on collision south of the resort. They quickly helped pull the victims from the wreckage until help arrived.

“It’s a life-changer for many people,” said Dalaina Oleson, who works for Girl Friday Cleaning, said Monday.

The drivers of the car and pickup involved were flown to St. Charles Bend while their two passengers and a woman on a motorcycle were taken by ambulance.

Oleson recalled that as her crew were driving by, they just knew they had to stop and help. She said she saw smoke and flames and had to act fast.

“I helped with a young female in getting her out of the car,” Olson said. “The pavement was really hot, so we went and got our cleaning racks.”

Oleson and her crew laid the victims on the cleaning racks after pulling them out of the smashed vehicles.

“A co-worker of mine took off his work shirt and put it around the guy’s head because it was bleeding so badly,” Oleson said.

A nurse and an anesthesiologist also stopped to help, giving the crew directions on what to do.

“(They told us) that we have to keep them awake. That’s all I could do,” Oleson said.

It was a gruesome scene, too much for many.

“Thank God I don’t have nightmares, but I do hear — there was some screaming, I still hear that,” Oleson said.

Oleson said the accident hit especially close to home for her, because her daughter is the same age as the young woman she pulled out of the wrecked car.

She also said about eight other cars passed by the scene in the early moments.

“Nobody blames anybody. Some people can deal with that and some can’t,” Oleson said.

Oleson’s boss said she is very proud of her crew.

“That even though they aren’t trained, there were a few trained professionals there, they did everything they could to make sure these people were okay,” said Donna James, owner of Girl Friday Cleaning in Bend.

Although the cleaning crew was not working, James said they will still get paid for what they did.

“I’m absolutely going to pay you for that hour of time,” she said. “I actually posted it on Facebook, and somebody I know from California said, ‘I’d actually like to double their wage. to show them that compassion matters.”

Oleson said the money was not why she did it.

“We did it because people needed help and we were there,” Oleson said.