Driver, 27, killed in fiery crash of two pickup trucks at icy NE Bend intersection
(Update: adding video)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 27-year-old Bend man was killed Wednesday evening in the fiery collision of two pickup trucks at the intersection of Dean Swift and Bear Creek roads in NE Bend amid freezing fog and icy road conditions, police said.
Officers responded around 7:22 p.m. to the reported crash and learned while en route that one of the vehicles involved had caught fire, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.
Police arrived to find a black 2006 Toyota Tacoma engulfed in flames. Miller said several officers tried to put out the blaze with extinguishers and open the driver’s door, but were unable to remove the man from the pickup due to the flames and damage to the door from the crash.
A preliminary investigation determined that Anthony David Cardonia was driving the Tacoma heading west on Bear Creek Road when he apparently crossed into the eastbound lane, colliding nearly head-on with an eastbound black 2021 Dodge Ram pickup, Miller said.
The Ram’s driver broke the Tacoma’s driver's-side window and tried to pull Cardonia from his truck before officers arrived, Miller said. The Ram’s driver and passenger were treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.
The area around the crash was closed for about four hours while a police reconstruction team conducted an investigation. Miller said the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
