OSP: Prineville man killed, two Redmond residents seriously injured in crash on Highway 126 west of Powell Butte

(Update: Oregon State Police release names, other details of collision

POWELL BUTTE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Prineville man was killed and two Redmond residents were seriously injured Friday morning when a driver drifted partially off Highway 126 just west of Powell Butte, over-corrected and his car was struck by an oncoming SUV, Oregon State Police said Saturday,

OSP troopers, medics and other first responders were dispatched around 7:25 a.m. Friday to the two-vehicle crash on Highway 126 near milepost 6.

A preliminary investigation found that Humberto Ruiz Vargas, 24, of Prineville, was driving a westbound Honda Civic when he drifted off the roadway while negotiating a left-hand curve, with the passenger-side tires going into the gravel shoulder, troopers said.

OSP said Ruiz Vargas over-corrected and crossed the center line into the oncoming, eastbound lane, OSP said. It was struck on the passenger side by a Nissan Rogue driven by Summer Ann Zimmerman, 39, of Redmond.

The two vehicles came to a stop on the highway’s eastbound shoulder, with the SUV rolling onto its passenger side, troopers said.

Ruiz Vargas was flown by Life Flight helicopter to an area hospital, where he died, troopers said.

Zimmerman and her passenger, Harley Rose Isaacson, 22, also of Redmond, were seriously injured and also taken to an area hospital.

The highway was closed for over an hour and then reopened to one lane with flaggers during the on-scene investigation. The highway was affected for about four hours.

OSP was assisted by the Crook County and Redmond fire departments, Crook County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Police and ODOT.