Two dead in head-on crash on Hwy. 20

Two people are dead after a head-on collision on Highway 20 near milepost 9 east of Sisters on Saturday evening.

According to Sergeant David MacKenzie of Oregon State Police, a 2001 Nissan Sentra four-door driven by Jesus Ramierez Larios, age 33, from Pasco, Washington, was westbound on Highway 20 near milepost 9 when it crossed the center line into the eastbound lane, where it collided head-on with a 2006 Subaru wagon driven by Dean Hale, age 62, from Bend.

OSP reported that a witness was in the process of calling 911 to report the Nissan's hazardous driving when the collision occurred.

Both Hale and Larios were pronounced dead at the scene. Hale's passenger, wife Patricia Meehan, age 59, from Bend, was transported by air ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend with critical injuries. Meehan is well-known in the Central Oregon music community as a member of the band The Prairie Rockets.

The highway was closed for about four hours during the investigation.