News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The occupants of this car escaped serious injury in a single-vehicle wreck on an icy Highway 20.
Winter weather turned the highways west of Sisters into a deadly destruction derby last weekend as Sisters and Black Butte Ranch (BBR) emergency personnel responded to a series of accidents.
One person died and seven others received non-life threatening injuries Saturday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 126 about 7.5 miles south of the junction with Highway 20.
According to Oregon State Police (OSP) Trooper April Lang, on January 5, at approximately 2:06 p.m. a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo sport utility vehicle driven by Norman D. Good, age 30, from Eugene, was eastbound on Highway 126 near milepost 7 when it lost control on packed snow/ice road conditions and slid sideways into the westbound lane.
A westbound 2005 Chevrolet Colorado pickup driven by Antoniao Rico-Sanchez, age 42, from Culver, crashed into the passenger side of the Isuzu. Both vehicles came to rest blocking the westbound lane.
The right front passenger in the Isuzu, identified as Joshua Eugene Christensen, age 28, from Veneta, was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician who had stopped to provide medical care.
Good and three Isuzu passengers were transported by ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend for treatment. All were using safety restraints or were in a child booster seat.
Rico-Sanchez was using safety restraints and was transported by a private party to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend for treatment of minor injuries. Two children were also transported by ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Both were also using safety restraints.
Also on Saturday afternoon, Sisters and Black Butte Ranch ambulances responded to a head-on collision about 3/4-mile east of Lost Lake.
"One patient was trapped, and we extricated that patient," said Sisters Fire Chief Tay Robertson. "That patient was then transported to Black Butte Ranch and transported by Air Life to St. Charles from there."
Air Life could land no closer to the accident due to wind and snow and low visibility. Victim identification and information on his condition was not available.
On Sunday afternoon a single vehicle lost control just west of the Highway 20/Indian Ford Road intersection and slid off the highway, ending up on its top. All five occupants, including children, were out of the vehicle when emergency personnel arrived.
One man was transported to the hospital for treatment via BBR ambulance.
Chief Robertson urged motorists to be careful on the roads and to check equipment.
"Please slow down," Robertson said. He said excessive speed played a part in at least two of the accidents, often in conjunction with bald tires or other equipment issues. But the big thing is speed and following too close in the conditions.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)