Crash into power pole on Hwy. 20 kills Bend man
(Update: OSP IDs victim, provides details; power in area restored)
A 25-year-old Bend man was killed Thursday night when his SUV left U.S. Highway 20 near Cloverdale and crashed into a power pole, causing live wires to fall onto the vehicle, closing the highway for nearly nine hours and cutting power to hundreds in the area, officials said.
Oregon State Police and other emergency personnel responded just before 8 p.m. to the reported single-vehicle crash on Highway 20 near Fryrear Road, east of Sisters, OSP Sgt. Michael Berland said.
A preliminary investigation found that the driver, Tyler Wright, was alone in a black 2001 Nissan Pathfinder heading east when “for unknown reasons, Wright crossed over the oncoming lane and impacted a power pole, coming to a rest on its top,” Berland said in a news release.
Wright sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.
The highway reopened around 4:45 a.m., according to ODOT, and Central Electric Cooperative said the 566 affected customers in the area had power fully restored by 5 a.m.
CEC said crews were able to start gradually restoring power after midnight, once OSP completed its investigation into the crash and they were able to assess the site.
Troopers said they were assisted by Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, several area fire departments and ODOT
ODOT reported the crash had the road closed at milepost 7.8, the intersection with Cloverdale Road, between Bend and Sisters.
“Power lines down and transformer dangling,” the initial ODOT advisory said.
CEC crews called to the scene first had to de-energize the line so first responders could get into the vehicle.
A detour was in place for a time using Fryrear Road, but ODOT urged motorists to avoid the area if possible.
Just after midnight, ODOT said eastbound Highway 20 traffic from Sisters was being diverted onto Fryrear Road, to Highway 126. From Bend, drivers were urged to seek an alternate route to Highway 126 (Redmond-Sisters), as Highway 20 was closed on the east side of Fryrear Road.
CEC said the vehicle struck a pole carrying a major power line feeding from the co-op’s Tumalo substation.
