Drivers avoid injury in Highway 20 wrecks

Two wrecks in two days on Highway 20 four miles east of Sisters last week left drivers shaken but uninjured.

The first accident occurred on March 26 when Tamara Prinzing, 32, of Tumalo, fell asleep while driving her Chevrolet Suburban toward Bend near Harrington Loop Road.

Prinzing's vehicle drifted into the westbound lane, forcing Carla Shute, 36, of Salem, to drive her Honda Accord off the road and into a tree. Airbags deployed, preventing injury, according to a deputy on the scene.

Prinzing said she woke suddenly, and stopped at the KOA just up the road and called for assistance for the other driver. She was cited for failure to drive within a lane of travel.

The next day, Friday, March 27, Donna Gabrielson, of Lake Oswego, was headed west on Highway 20 near Gist Road. Gabrielson encountered a sudden, intense hail storm which left the road covered with ice. Even the centerline was obliterated, according to witnesses.

Gabrielson felt her Dodge Dynasty begin to slip, but avoided hitting the brakes and further losing control. The car drifted over the centerline and was clipped by a Deschutes Ready Mix cement truck driven by Dale Wilber.

According to authorities, Wilber had moved the truck as far as he could toward the edge of the highway to avoid the accident, but the point of impact was about four inches in on the driver's side of the Dodge. The car was spun completely around to face east on the north side of the road. There were no citations issued in the noninjury accident.