Two seriously hurt in Hwy. 20 chain-reaction crash
(Update: OSP releases names of those in crash; correcting which pickup rolled)
A four-vehicle chain-reaction crash on rainy Highway 20 west of Santiam Pass on Sunday afternoon sent three people to St. Charles Bend, two flown there with serious injuries, Oregon State Police reported.
Troopers and emergency medics responded shortly before 1:30 p.m. to the crash near milepost 76, east of Santiam Junction and west of Santiam Pass, OSP Captain Tim Fox said.
A preliminary investigation found that the driver of a white Chevy Tracker SUV, Ronald Meadors., 57, of Shedd, was heading west on the highway when he lost control on the slick road and went into a counter-clockwise spin, sliding into the oncoming lane.
Fox said the Chevy SUV crashed into a white Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck heading east, driven by Nancy Altishin, 67, of Bend. The Dodge pickup then crossed into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with a blue 2003 Chevy Silverado pickup truck that was heading west, pulling an RV trailer and driven by Ricki Young, 46, of Scio.
The RV trailer crashed into the front and side of a white 2010 Lexus SUV that was heading east, driven by Alison Hamm, 54, of Bend. The RV trailer then rolled onto its side, blocking all three lanes. The Dodge pickup also rolled onto its side on the westbound shoulder.
Altishin and a passenger in the Chevy pickup, Alisha Young, 41, of Scio, suffered serious injuries and were flown by Life Flight helicopter to the Bend hospital, Fox said. Young suffered “moderate” injuries and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
All of the other drivers and passengers were evaluated on scene by fire and EMS personnel, Fox said.
A St. Charles house supervisor said Altishin and Alisha Young were in serious condition Monday.
In addition, OSP brought two injured dogs to an emergency veterinarian in Bend, he added.
OSP troopers were assisted by Black Butte Police, Black Butte Fire & EMS and ODOT. The crash closed the highway for about two hours.
ODOT’s TripCheck page still showed traffic backed up for a time after the rainy roadway reopened between Santiam Pass and Santiam Junction.
