Bend man jailed on drugged-driving charge after head-on crash east of Prineville

PRINEVILLE, Ore (KTVZ) – A Bend man was arrested on drugged driving and other charges Sunday after a head-on crash east of Prineville that sent both drivers to the hospital, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies responded just after 4 p.m. to a citizen report that a possibly intoxicated driver of a Jeep was failing to maintain the lane of travel and had almost crashed on Northeast Ochoco Highway near Ochoco Reservoir, Sgt. Brian Bottoms said.

While deputies were en route, dispatchers learned the Jeep had crossed the center line and crashed head-on into another vehicle on the Ochoco Highway near Northeast Lake Front Lane, about six miles east of Prineville, Bottoms said.

Deputies arrived and found a car off the north side of the highway and the Jeep SUV off the south side of the highway. The Jeep driver, a 36-year-old Bend man, and the Toyota’s driver, a Prineville woman, were taken to St. Charles Prineville for treatment, Bottoms said.

An investigation determined the Jeep driver apparently was driving under the influence of marijuana and methamphetamine, Bottoms said. He was arrested and lodged in the county jail on charges of DUII, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another, resisting arrest and third-degree escape.

He also was cited for driving with a suspended license, and refusing breath and urine tests. Bottoms said the driver also was found to possess a user amount of meth, which carries a $100 fine under the new state law.