Sisters man seriously hurt in crash

A Sisters man suffered life-threatening injuries in a single-vehicle crash east of Sisters on July 6.

The crash occurred at about 5:45 p.m. on Sunday.

Firefighters arrived on the scene to find that a Ford Explorer had left the roadway and struck a tree on the driver's door, pinning the driver in the vehicle. With help from Sisters-Camp Sherman fire personnel, Cloverdale firefighters used a recently purchased Holmatro hydraulic rescue tool to remove the vehicle's doors and roof to extricate the driver, identified as 46-year-old Cory Lee Madsen of Sisters.

Once Madsen was extricated, he was transported by medics to St. Charles-Bend, where he was admitted with life-threatening injuries.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reports that an "investigation determined Madsen's vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed as he was driving southbound on West St. and left the gravel roadway. Madsen's vehicle drove through a wire fence and struck the juniper tree. Alcohol and high speeds were both contributing factors in this crash."

The crash is still under investigation.

Cloverdale Fire Chief Thad Olsen credits inter-agency training and teamwork between Cloverdale and Sisters-Camp Sherman fire departments with the safe and rapid removal of the trapped driver from the vehicle.