Emergency vehicles hit on icy road

Winter may not have hit Sisters Country in earnest, but roads can still be icy, especially in the morning. An incident on Highway 20 near Suttle Lake demonstrates the importance of slowing down and adjusting for conditions.

According to Black Butte Ranch Police, on Tuesday morning around 8:26 a.m., Black Butte Ranch Police responded to assist on a crash on Highway 20 near the entrance to Suttle Lake. A vehicle had slid off the road due to icy conditions. Black Butte Ranch Fire Department medics arrived on scene to assess the patient.

A Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy assisted by setting up west of the accident to slow traffic down. An Oregon State Police trooper arrived around 9:06 a.m. to take a report on the crash. Before he was able to even put his vehicle into park on the eastbound shoulder, his SUV was struck by an Isuzu commercial truck that had lost control on the ice due to speed and the icy conditions.

After hitting the OSP SUV, the Isuzu continued forward, hitting the front of the Black Butte Ranch Fire Department ambulance and coming to rest near the back of the ambulance.

Three medics and a patient from the first crash were in the back of the ambulance. No one was injured, and the driver of the Isuzu was cited for careless driving.