Two injured in Highway 97 crash at La Pine intersection

Two people were injured in a La Pine crash late Tuesday afternoon when a Tigard resident said he looked down to grab his glasses and ran a stop sign, cut a corner and collided nearly head-on with a large SUV, Oregon State Police said.

The crash occurred shortly before 5 p.m. on Highway 97 at the intersection with William Foss Road, troopers said.

Man Duy Mai, 20, of Tigard, was at the wheel of a Toyota Camry that drove through a stop sign, cut the corner and collided nearly head-on with a Chevy Tahoe driven by Rodney Stephen Young, 67, of La Pine, troopers said.

Mai has two passengers, and one in the front seat, That Tran, 18, of Portland, was flown by Air Link helicopter to St. Charles Bend with non-life-threatening injuries.

The passenger in Young’s SUV, Katheryn Jean Young, 67, also of La Pine, was taken by ambulance to the Bend hospital, also with non-life-threatening injuries, troopers said.

Man told troopers he looked down to grab his glasses. OSP said he cut the corner when entering southbound Highway 97 and collided with the front passenger-side corner of the SUV.

The crash shut the highway for a time, as the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and ODOT assisted on the scene. Trac Towing towed both vehicles from the scene.

OSP Lt. Steve Mitchell said he did not have information on any enforcement action resulting from the crash.