ODOT worker cited in Hwy. 26 crash N. of Prineville

Members of an ODOT work crew were uninjured in a crash on Highway 26 in Crook County on Tuesday afternoon, but the driver was cited for following too closely and striking the rear of a trailer hooked to another pickup whose driver slowed to make a turn, sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies were dispatched shortly before 4 p.m. to the reported crash on Northwest Madras Highway near milepost 24, Sgt. Mitch Madden said.

Zachary Smith, 22, of Prineville, was heading south at the wheel of a Ford F-250, slowing and preparing to turn right into a hay field, Madden said.

He was towing an empty goose-neck trailer.

ODOT employee Robert Broughton, 58, of Prineville, was driving a southbound Chevy Silverado, towing a small utility trailer and carrying four work crew passengers when he collided with the rear of the trailer at about 55 mph, the sergeant said.

The impact pushed Smith’s vehicle off onto the shoulder, while Broughton’s pickup crossed the northbound lane and stopped in a small embankment, with extensive front end damage.

Broughton sustained minor injuries from an air bag deployment, but no one else in either vehicle was hurt, Madden said.

Alcohol or drugs don’t appear to be a contributing factor, Madden added.