Three injured, two critically, in Highway 20 crash

A Redmond father and son were critically injured and a Woodburn man was seriously hurt in a two-vehicle crash Monday morning on rainy U.S. Highway 20 east of Santiam Pass, Oregon State Police reported.

Troopers and medics responded shortly before 7 a.m. to the reported crash near milepost 83, about three miles east of Santiam Summit, said OSP Capt. Bill Fugate.

A preliminary investigation found Torres Reyes, 20, of Woodburn, was driving a 2005 Chevy Colorado pickup truck heading east on the highway when he lost control while negotiating a corner on the wet roadway, Fugate said.

The pickup spun out and into the path of a westbound 2016 Kia SUV driven by Terje Walthinsen, 71. Fugate said the pickup struck the SUV nearly head-on, then overturned after impact.

Walthinsen and his passenger and son, Timothy Walthinsen, 38, were taken by ambulance to Sisters, then flown by air ambulance to St. Charles Bend, where a house supervisor said both were in critical condition late Monday afternoon.

Reyes was taken ambulance to the Bend hospital, where he was listed in serious condition, according to the house supervisor.

Fugate said speeding by Reyes “is being considered a contributing factor in the crash.” He also said Reyes has a suspended Oregon driver’s license.

The crash and investigation closed the westbound lanes of Highway 20 for about five hours.

OSP was assisted by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Black Butte Ranch police and fire departments, the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Fugate said more information in the ongoing investigation will be released when it becomes available.