Two motorcycle riders seriously injured in crash into tree, barbed wire fence north of Prineville

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A motorcycle operator and passenger were seriously injured in a crash into a tree and barbed wire fence north of Prineville late Sunday afternoon, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies and medics were dispatched around 4:40 p.m. to the reported crash on NW Gerke Road just north of the intersection with N. McKay Creek Road, Lt. Mitch Madden said. Both people were reported injured, with the operator entangled in the barbed wire fence.

The first deputy on scene determined that the operator, a 20-year-old Prineville man, and his passenger, a 30-year-old Pendleton woman, had “significant injuries,” Madden said in a news release. The deputy used bolt-cutters to remove the man from the fence.

Crook County Fire & Rescue medics transported both riders to St. Charles Prineville and later flown to St. Charles Bend.

Based on evidence at the scene, Madden said the operator is believed to have entered a sweeping left curve at a high rate of speed and was unable to negotiate the corner, leaving the road and traveling up an embankment. Both the motorcycle and two riders became airborne, colliding with the barbed wire fence and a small tree.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to be involved, Madden said. No citations have been issued and the investigation is continuing.

The sheriff’s office was assisted by Crook County Fire & Rescue and STAR Towing.