Two charged with DUII in Hwy. 26 single-car crash

(Update: OSP corrects date of crash: Sunday, not Thursday)

An argument on the road between two Warm Springs residents led to a single-vehicle rollover crash on Highway 26 on Sunday, according to Oregon State Police, who said it left the pair with minor injuries and something more unusual – both now face DUII charges.

OSP said the crash occurred around 3 p.m. Sunday on Highway 26 near milepost 108 in Jefferson County.

A preliminary investigation found that Aurel Stinson, 48, was at the wheel of a 2000 Subaru heading west on the highway when an altercation broke out with front-seat passenger Fabian Sutterlee Jr., 42, said OSP Sgt. Kaipo Raiser.

Sutterlee allegedly grabbed the steering wheel and forced the car onto the soft shoulder, Raiser said. Stinson tried to regain control of the car, but it traveled onto a dirt slope, where it rolled onto its roof.

Both occupants were taken to St. Charles Madras with apparently minor injuries. Sutterlee later was flown by ambulance to St. Charles Bend.

The investigation found both were driving while impaired by alcohol, Raiser said.

While both were charged with DUII, Sutterlee also was charged with reckless driving, reckless endangering, fourth-degree assault and first-degree criminal mischief.

Two people charged with DUII in the same vehicle “is rare, but an occasional occurrence,” Raiser said. “The circumstances can vary, of course, but it seems like this happens once or twice a year.”

Troopers were assisted on scene by ODOT, Jefferson County Fire and EMS, Warm Springs police and Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies.