Bend woman recovering from Fourth of July pickup-bike collision

(Updating: No charges filed at this time

A 20-year-old Bend woman was in fair condition at St. Charles Bend Friday night, three days after her bicycle drifted into oncoming traffic and was struck by a pickup truck, police said.

Bend police released details Friday of the Fourth of July crash, which happened shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Northwest Newport Avenue and Fifth Street. Lt. Clint Burleigh said Bend Fire medics took Brianna Kraft to the hospital with severe injuries.

Initial Deschutes County 911 dispatch information was that a pedestrian or bicyclist was hit by a small pickup, Burleigh said. Several people were on scene at the time and provided care for the woman, also updating responding police and medics.

An investigation determined that Kraft was riding eastbound on Newport, against traffic on the north side of the road, when she was struck by a 1998 Toyota Tundra driven by a Bend woman, the lieutenant said.

Kraft drifted into oncoming traffic, Burleigh said, and the driver was unable to avoid a collision, Burleigh said, adding that she was not wearing a helmet.

Investigators also learned that before the crash, Kraft had been at Columbia Park, where the annual Freedom Ride ended.

No charges in the collision have been filed at this time, Burleigh said.

Burleigh said bicyclists need to remember to ride with the flow of traffic, if you are on the roadway.

“Vehicles are more prepared and more aware when bicycles are riding on the proper side of the road,” Burleigh said in a news release.

Kraft’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses.