Redmond man arrested on drunken driving, assault charges after Bend head-on injury crash
Witness called 911, said he was driving all over road, hit a tree previously
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Redmond man was arrested on drunken driving, assault and other charges Sunday night after his pickup truck crashed head-on into a minivan on Business 97 (Third Street), seriously injuring the driver and injuring three others, Bend police said.
Officers were dispatched shortly before 10 p.m. to a suspected DUII driver in the 1900 block of Northeast Third Street, Sergeant Rob Emerson said. A witness advised the driver of a white Ford pickup truck had struck a tree after driving all over the road, then sped away, heading north.
A few moments later, the witness said the truck had hit another car.
Officers and Oregon State Police troopers arrived a few moments later and learned the truck had left its lane and struck a southbound minivan head-on on the Business 97 railroad overpass, just south of the northbound Bend Parkway onramp, Emerson said.
After the truck struck the minivan, the driver, identified as a 27-year-old Redmond man, continued north into the west guardrail, narrowly missing another vehicle.
Four people were in the minivan – a man, woman and two young children, with the woman driving and trapped in the minivan after the crash, Emerson said.
Bend Fire medics freed the driver, who was taken by ambulance to St. Charles Bend with serious injuries. The sergeant said the man and two children had minor injuries and also were taken to St. Charles.
The pickup driver, alone in the vehicle, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. He was determined to be under the influence and then was taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he was booked on initial charges of DUII-alcohol, second-degree assault, reckless driving, criminal mischief and reckless endangering. His bail was set at $80,000; Emerson said the charges could change as the investigation continues.
The crash and investigation shut down Third Street for over 90 minutes, Emerson said.
