Alcohol implicated in fatal wreck

Alcohol was possibly involved in an automobile wreck that took the life of a 19-year-old near Sisters on Sunday, August 16.

According to the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Jeffrey Leo Hewitt was traveling east toward Redmond at a high rate of speed at about 1:48 a.m. in a 1993 Honda coupe.

Hewitt lost control of the vehicle at the corner just west of Camp Polk Road, nearly striking a westbound vehicle. The Honda continued off the pavement, flipping several times and sliding across a fairway at the adjacent golf course.

The Honda came to rest on its top in the pond about 100 feet off the highway, with "major structural damage to the body of the vehicle," according to a sheriff's office media release.

"Deputies and citizens turned the vehicle over and found Jeffrey Hewitt still seated in the driver's seat, deceased," according to the report.

In addition to Deschutes County Sheriff's deputies, the Oregon State Police, Cloverdale and Sisters/Camp Sherman emergency medical personnel responded to the scene. They confirmed Hewitt's death. A funeral home was called to remove the body.

According to the sheriff's office, Hewitt had consumed alcoholic beverages at a party earlier in the evening. The wreck remains under investigation.