Troutdale family of 4, on way to see eclipse, killed in fiery crash on Highway 97 north of Redmond

(Update: Adding video, comments by neighbors, school official)

OSP seeks witnesses: 'When an entire family is lost, the tragic becomes the horrific.'

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Four members of a Troutdale family on their way to view the annular eclipse were killed and another driver seriously injured in the fiery head-on collision of a pickup and SUV on U.S. Highway 97 north of Redmond Thursday evening. Oregon State Police released details Saturday as they looked for witnesses to the tragedy.

“All fatal traffic crashes are tragic. When an entire family is lost, the tragic becomes the horrific,” OSP Public Information Officer Captain Kyle Kennedy wrote in releasing the names and details of the crash.

Troopers and other first responders were called to the multi-vehicle crash shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday near milepost 118, about two miles south of Terrebonne, Kennedy said.

A preliminary investigation indicated that a 43-year-old Corvallis, Montana man was driving a Chevy Silverado heading north when it crossed the center line, sideswiped a southbound Kenworth commercial motor vehicle and trailer, then struck a southbound Toyota RAV4 driven by Gary Rutledge, 57, of Troutdale, head-on.

The SUV subsequently caught fire and became fully engulfed, Kennedy said.

Rutledge and his three passengers – his wife, Michelle Jean Windsor Rutledge, 53, and their two teen children, Kate Rutledge, 15, and Ryan Rutledge, 17 – died at the scene, the trooper said.

The pickup driver was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries, while the semi driver, a 50-year-old Livingston, Calif., resident, was not injured.

The crash and on-scene investigation closed or limited the highway for about four hours. OSP was assisted by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Fire and Police, and ODOT.

Kennedy said OSP is working with the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office in its investigation.

 OSP is asking any witnesses to the crash to contact them at *OSP and reference Case No. SP23326671.

Neighbors in Troutdale told KGW on Saturday that the family had been on their way south to watch Saturday's annular eclipse.

"Its horrible, it’s a horrible thing," said neighbor Cynthia Jacobsen, who said she had known the family for ten years. "They were just going to take their children to see the eclipse. I mean, they were doing a wonderful family outing because they are that kind of people that always wanted to do something for their family, and it ended like that." 

The Reynolds School District confirmed Saturday the two teens were students at Reynolds High School.

Frank Caropelo, interim superintendent of schools, released a statement sharing the "tragic news" with the community about Ryan and Kate Rutledge, in their sophomore and freshman years at Reynolds High School. He said there would be "flight teams" and more substitutes at the school, as well as the elementary and middle schools they attended. "Care rooms" were being set up for students to "meet with mental health professionals or just have some quiet space to process" the loss.

Cynthia Jacobsen described the Rutledge family as a central part of their tight-knit neighborhood, and said the family had hosted a neighborhood barbecue at their house just a couple months ago. She described Ryan as a straight-A student and Kate as someone who had a lot of friends.

"I mean, they're just really sweet kids, and the whole neighborhood is in shock and disbelief," she said. "It's just so devastating, that they were just wonderful people, caring, kind, compassionate people, very family-driven. They were the kind of people that you just want to be friends with."

"It's devastating. There's not words to describe it," added her husband, Mark Jacobsen. "We just saw them a couple of days ago, and now we're never going to see them again."

ODOT had established a detour while advising motorists to expect extended delays in the area.

Around 9 p.m., ODOT said a detour was in place on Canal Boulevard and advised motorists to follow the signs for that route. Shortly before midnight, ODOT said the crash no longer had the road closed but could still cause "minimal" delays.

It was the second fatal crash of the day in the region. OSP earlier confirmed a death resulted from a head-on crash that shut Highway 361 north of Highway 97 and south of Culver Thursday afternoon. A third fatal crash occurred early Friday on the Bend Parkway claimed the life of a pedestrian reportedly lying in the roadway.