Bend, OR : La Pine man killed in Highway 97 crash on Monday morning, August 22, 2016

A 25-year-old La Pine man was killed Monday morning in a head-on collision south of Bend on U.S. Highway 97, according to Oregon State Police.

Joshua Matthes was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred around 8:15 a.m. about 5 miles south of Bend near the High Desert Museum, according to a news release.

Ashley Obrien, 24, of Oak Park, California, was seriously injured in the crash and taken to St. Charles Bend, police said.

John Norris, 59, of Bend, a third driver involved in the crash, was not injured.

According to police, Matthes was driving a Chevrolet Malibu north on the highway in the fast lane and rear-ended Norris’ Ford F-350, which was also traveling north. After hitting the pickup, Matthes’ car crossed the center line of the highway and collided with Obrien’s Honda Accord, which was traveling south, police said.

Capt. Bill Fugate, an OSP spokesman, said Monday afternoon he did not know what might have caused or contributed to the crash.

Electronic court records show Matthes was issued a citation in June for driving with a suspended license and driving without insurance near La Pine State Park.

The highway was closed Monday for about an hour for an investigation into the crash. One lane was opened with flaggers soon after. All lanes were reopened at about noon.

The crash occurred along a stretch of the highway where crews are preparing to install a concrete median barrier between the north and southbound lanes and have been paving a new southbound lane. The Oregon Department of Transportation project began earlier this month.

The median barrier is expected to be installed between Baker Road and Lava Butte, where there is an existing concrete barrier that extends to South Century Drive. An opening will be left in the new median for southbound traffic to turn into the High Desert Museum.

According to ODOT, there have been 87 reported crashes along the stretch of highway where the new barrier will go in the past 10 years. There were eight head-on crashes and three crashes involving side-to-side collisions, which resulted in five deaths.

Source :
La Pine man killed in Highway 97 crash