7/3/09 Sisters & Tumalo
By Doug Johnson
Driving past the scene of an accident, you'll usually see lot of law enforcement vehicles; but it's rare to see one of them involved.
"We're ever vigilant and just as careful as we can be, unfortunately things like this happen," says Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton.
Oregon State Police are investigating what caused a black Range Rover, and Deschutes County Sheriff SUV, both heading west on Highway 20, to collide just before noon on Friday. The deputy behind the wheel had a minor injury to his ankle, the other driver and passenger unharmed. Traffic backed up for a half hour as four lanes became one. OSP says the patrol SUV hit the Range Rover as it was turning into a driveway. Indirectly, a high speed pursuit along this stretch of Highway 126 could also be to blame. At the time, the deputy in this crash was responding to assist other deputies on that call.
"A citizen complained of a vehicle tailgating, unsafe driving, our deputy was out near Sisters, found the vehicle, tried to stop it and pull it over, vehicle took off," Sheriff Larry Blanton.
According to the Sheriff's Office the pursuit didn't last very long, only about a mile before deputies backed off. The suspect was heading into Sisters, and the Sheriff's office says, for safety reasons, it didn't want to pursue through a populated area at high speeds.
"I don't know where that vehicle went, what the situation was, why he was running from us; we did not want to chase that vehicle into the city of Sisters," says Sheriff Blanton.
Deputies continue to search for the vehicle, but still are unsure why it would not pull over.
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A Deschutes County (DCSO) deputy sheriff and two others were uninjured Friday afternoon following a crash involving the deputy's patrol vehicle and a sport utility vehicle on Highway 20W west of Bend. Oregon State Police (OSP) was asked by DCSO to investigate the crash.
On July 3, 2009 at approximately 12:15 p.m. a marked DCSO 2009 Ford Expedition patrol vehicle driven by Deputy RONNY DOZIER II, age 41, was westbound on Highway 20W near milepost 16 with overhead lights and siren activated enroute to assist a DCSO deputy on an incident in the Sisters' area. Other westbound traffic was stopped to yield to the deputy as he moved into the left eastbound lane to pass the traffic. One of the stopped vehicles, a 2000 Land Rover driven by TIMOTHY TURNER, age 47, from Bend, began to turn left into his private driveway when the Land Rover was struck in the driver's side by the DCSO patrol vehicle.
Deputy ROZIER, Mr. TURNER and his son, TIMOTHY TURNER, age 16, were not injured. All individuals were using safety restraints.
The investigation is continuing.
All lanes were closed for about 20 minutes followed by a one hour partial closure. OSP was assisted by ODOT and DCSO.
