One NW Bend car crash leads to another; 2 drivers cited

A Bend teen who struck a parked car in northwest Bend Monday morning when she tried to adjust her visor due to the rising sun was unhurt in the crash, but cited for careless driving – as was another driver who struck a police motorcycle parked at the scene moments later, officers said.

The 17-year-old heading east on Northwest Flagline Drive at Skyliners Road told police the rising sun interfered with her vision. Her Audi A4 crashed into a parked Honda Element along the road, causing her car to flip onto its top and sending the Honda into the green space beside the sidewalk, said Lt. Clint Burleigh.

The crash was blocking the roadway and a Bend police motor officer investigating the crash had his parked motorcycle in the travel lane, with the emergency lights flashing, when another car crested the hill.

Witnesses said they honked their horns to warn that driver slow down due to the hazards in the roadway, Burleigh said. But as she crested the hill, her car struck the rear of the police motorcycle. The officer was not in the area at the time of the crash.

Burleigh said the crashes serve as a reminder for drivers to take a few extra minutes in the morning to make sure windshields are clear of debris, including frost and dew.

“As we move into the fall, the level of the sun is often at a height during the morning commute hours that could interfere with the vision of drivers,” the lieutenant wrote in a news release. “Give yourself extra time to travel, so you can slow down when you are confronted with these hazards.”