Driver cited in downtown Bend injury motorcycle crash

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Portland man was cited for driving into the path of a motorcyclist at a downtown Bend intersection Saturday night, prompting the rider to lay the motorcycle down on the road to avoid a collision, police said.

The motorcycle rider, a 52-year-old Bend man, was taken by ambulance to St Charles Bend for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, Sgt. R.C. Bigelow said.

Police and fire medics responded around 7:50 p.m. to the reported single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Northwest Hill Street and Greenwood Avenue, Bigelow said. Callers to Deschutes County 911 reported a motorcyclist was down at the intersection.

Police were assisted by members of the public, two nurses in the area, in stabilizing the motorcycle rider util paramedics arrived, officers said.

Bigelow said an investigation found that the 60-year-old Portland man was traveling north on Hill Street and pulled his Chevy Camaro into the path of a Ducati motorcycle heading east on Greenwood Avenue, Bigelow said.

To avoid a collision, the motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, laid it down on the road, and the vehicles did not collide, officers said. The driver remained at the scene, was cooperative in the investigation and was cited for failure to obey a traffic control device, a stop sign.

The crash and investigation closed the intersection for about a half-hour. Oregon State Police also assisted at the scene, Bigelow said.