Multiple wrecks on Highway 20 mar weekend

Rescuers extricated a victim from this wreck. photo provided Two serious crashes and multiple small wrecks littered Highway 20 between Hoodoo and Suttle Lake on Sunday, December 12.

Details were sketchy as the accidents remained under investigation by Oregon State Police.

According to Sisters Fire Chief Tay Robertson, a three-vehicle crash about a mile east of Hoodoo resulted in ambulance crews transporting four patients to the hospital and sending one via Air Life helicopter.

Four of the patients were critical cases, with head and abdominal injuries, Robertson said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately available, but road conditions were very icy.

Robertson described the conditions as "horrible," saying that "the rescue workers could hardly walk."

Temperatures of 28 degrees posed "serious concerns" for the condition of the victims, Robertson said.

Firefighters also had to extricate a victim in a previous wreck about a mile further to the east, Robertson reported.

According to Sisters emergency personnel, injuries in that wreck were less severe than in the previous crash.