Bend man seriously injured, charged in DUII crash

(Update: Correcting car’s driver)

A Bend man was seriously injured in a drunk-driving crash Friday evening when he tried to pass a car in a no-passing zone on the Old Bend-Redmond Highway and lost control on the icy road, hit the car, left the road and struck a tree, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies and Bend Fire Department paramedics responded around 7:15 p.m. Friday to the reported two-vehicle crash on the highway south of Rodeo Drive and north of Bend, sheriff’s Lt. Mike Biondi said.

Arriving deputies found a black 2003 Chevy Silverado pickup on the southbound shoulder of the road, facing south after hitting a tree, Biondi said. A black 2007 Nissan Altima was parked in the road’s northbound shoulder.

Biondi said an investigation determined Jose A. Valdovinos, 22, of Bend, was heading north on the highway, following the Nissan, driven by a 29-year-old Redmond woman.

Valdovinos passed the car in a non-passing zone with a double-yellow line and sped up as he became parallel with the car, causing the pickup to fishtail on the slick road and strike the Nissan, Biondi said. The pickup then spun around, slid off the road backwards and struck the tree.

Valdovinos was taken to St. Charles Bend, where a house supervisor said he was in critical condition late Saturday afternoon, but had improved to serious condition Saturday night.

Biondi said Valdovinos was cited at the hospital on charges of DUII, reckless driving, three counts of recklessly endangering another person, passing in a no-passing zone and misdemeanor driving with a suspended license.

His passenger, a 22-year-old Bend woman, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Neither of the car’s two occupants were injured, Biondi said.

The Old Bend-Redmond Highway was restricted to one travel lane for about 45 minutes during the investigation.