Hwy. 26 near Warm Springs reopens after serious-injury crash; DCSO responds to 10 crash reports around county
(Update: Hwy. 26 reopens after crash; DCSO responds to 10 crash reports)
WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A serious-injury crash closed U.S. Highway 26 in both directions near Warm Springs for a time late Saturday afternoon, officials said, on a day when slick, snowy and icy roads led to numerous crashes around the High Desert.
The crash at milepost 87 was reported shortly before 4 p.m. and prompted a closure that the Oregon Department of Transportation said “could last several hours.”
“Delay your trip or use an alternate route,” an ODOT advisory said. “Watch out for emergency vehicles.”
ODOT TripCheck indicated the highway had reopened before 6:30 p.m. Check traffic updates at KTVZ.COM's ODOT TripCheck page.
More snow fell on already snowy streets in many parts of Central Oregon overnight and Saturday morning as the Presidents Day weekend got underway.
Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, Oregon State police and other first responders rushed to the scene of several crashes, including a rollover crash on southbound Highway 97 at South Century Drive that reportedly sent two people to the hospital.
Others were reported in Bend, including two crashes in the area of Empire Avenue and Third Street/the Bend Parkway.
Deschutes County sheriff's deputies responded to 10 weather-related crashes around the county by Saturday evening, Lieutenant Jayson Janes said.
"The roads are terrible -- much better today at the north end of the county," Janes said. "They got way worse the closer you got to Bend."
"A good number" of the incidents that were reported as crashes were slide-offs, he added, and there were "a whole bunch at one time on the Cline Falls Highway."
The National Weather Service in Pendleton extended its winter weather advisory for Central Oregon and other areas to the north until 10 a.m. Sunday, predicting “mixed precipitation,” with up to two inches more snow and ice accumulations of a “light glaze” to one-tenth of an inch.
"Plan on slippery road conditions," forecasters advised, saying the highest snow accumulations were forecast west of U.S. Highway 97 and the highest ice accumulations along and east of Highway 97.
