Wrecks snarl highway traffic

It seemed last week that drivers couldn't keep out of each others' way. Several wrecks throughout the week blocked or slowed traffic from Sisters west to Suttle Lake. None of the accidents caused serious injuries.

Three vehicles crashed Wednesday afternoon in a posted construction zone on Highway 20 near Suttle Lake. The crash was reported at 1:20 p.m.

According to Oregon State Police reports, Bradley Zelmer, 18, was westbound on Highway 20 driving a 1998 Ford Mustang along with his passenger, Callie Cattell, 15, both of Bend.

Zelmer rear ended a 1990 Subaru Station Wagon driven by Neil Templeton, 35, OSP reported. Templeton was the second vehicle in line stopped for the flagger.

Templeton and his three passengers were from Montana.

After his vehicle was struck from behind, it was pushed into a stopped 2005 Ford pickup operated by Larry Nelson, 63, of Junction City. Nelson's wife, Shirley, was a passenger in that vehicle along with two grandchildren.

Despite the apparent violence of the crash, only minor injuries were reported, and nobody was transported via ambulance to the hospital, OSP reports. A cage carrying a puppy in the Templeton vehicle was crushed, and that animal was taken to a veterinarian clinic in Sisters by Black Butte Ranch Police.

According to OSP, witnesses reported Zelmer's driving behavior prior to the crash as being somewhat erratic. Zelmer was issued a citation for careless driving.

Traffic was down to one lane for over an hour. ODOT, Black Butte Ranch Police, Sisters fire and ambulance crews and Jim Crowley, Central Oregon Police Chaplain, all provided assistance at the crash scene. Crowley was driving through the area at the time of the crash.

A Sisters area woman was cited at an accident at Barclay Drive and Highway 20 that put a travel trailer on its side, blocking the westbound lane of the highway.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reports, Margaret Moran was driving a 2007 Ford Focus that pulled onto Highway 20 from the north side of Barclay Drive and struck the side of a 2007 Jayco camp trailer, causing it to jacknife and slide sideways into the pickup truck that was towing it.

Moran was cited for failing to obey a stop sign and for failure to provide proof of insurance, according to sheriff's office reports.

Moran said the truck was traveling at 55 to 60 miles per hour in the 45 mph zone. A witness verified that account and said that Moran's brake lights were on at the time of the collision.

Moran also told The Nugget that she actually had her proof of insurance, but "you get so nervous; I couldn't find it."

There were also numerous rear-ending accidents on Saturday as traffic backed up due to a caravan of motor coaches traveling through Sisters.