Corvallis driver still critical, day after Hwy. 126 crash near Sisters

A Corvallis man was critically injured when he apparently ran a stop sign and caused a three-vehicle crash on Highway 126 east of Sisters early Tuesday evening that also sent the two other drivers to the hospital, Oregon State Police said.

The crash occurred around 5:20 p.m. six miles east of Sisters, at the intersection with Holmes Road (which becomes Fryrear Road to the south, toward Highway 20), said OSP Lt. Bill Fugate.

A preliminary investigation found that Tyler J. Myers, 22, of Corvallis was driving a 1998 Ford Escort heading south on Holmes Road when he apparently ran a stop sign while trying to cross the highway, Fugate said.

The Escort was struck on the driver’s side by a 2015 Toyota 4Runner that was heading west and driven by Jacquelyn A. Ekern, 49, of Redmond, he said.

Myers’ car then spun around and crashed through a fence at the southwest corner of the intersection. The 4Runner, meanwhile, spun out and was struck on its driver’s side by a 1997 Jeep Cherokee, also heading west and driven by Hayden Jones, 20, of Sisters, Fugate said. The Jeep and Toyota came to rest in the highways’ eastbound lanes.

Myers was flown by Life Flight helicopter to St. Charles Bend, where he remained in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Ekern was taken by ambulance to St. Charles Redmond, where she was treated and released, the hospital reported. Jones went by ambulance to St. Charles Bend, where he remained in fair condition Wednesday.

The crash and investigation closed Highway 126 for about 90 minutes before one lane reopened, with traffic flagged through in alternating directions.

OSP was assisted at the scene by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Cloverdale Rural Fire District and Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department, Fugate said.