OSP trooper seriously hurt in Sisters accident

An Oregon State Police (OSP) trooper received serious but non-life threatening head injuries Friday evening while attempting to change a flat tire on a disabled van along Highway 20 near Sisters.

According to OSP, the van's jack slipped as the trooper was underneath the van trying to remove a spare tire, causing the van to fall onto the trooper. The trooper was to be released from St. Charles Medical Center in Bend on Monday.

According to East Region OSP Captain Travis Hampton, preliminary information indicates on August 12, at approximately 6:13 p.m. Trooper Colin Tracy stopped to assist a disabled van with a flat tire on the shoulder of Highway 20 near Sisters. The van was already jacked up, with the jack resting on the volcanic-ash/cinder highway shoulder.

The woman with the disabled vehicle was having difficulty removing the spare tire secured underneath the van. Tropper Tracy was lying on his back with his upper body underneath the van to see if he could remove the spare tire when the jack slipped, causing the rear of the van to fall onto Tracy.

OSP reports that a dozen people stopped at the scene to help. OSP is trying to confirm who helped re-positioning the jack and raised the van up so Tracy could be pulled out from underneath the van before emergency responders arrived. Anyone who stopped to help Trooper Tracy is asked to contact the OSP Bend Area Command office at 541-388-6213.

Tracy, age 30, was transported by Sisters-Camp Sherman Ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend where he was being treated for injuries that will require surgery.

Tracy has been with OSP for six years. In addition to his assignment as a Patrol Services Division trooper at the Bend Area Command office, Tracy is a member of the OSP SWAT team.

OSP was assisted at the scene by Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and the Cloverdale Fire Department.