A 58-year-old Madras man was rushed to the hospital after he became unconscious and crashed his truck into a tree while driving into Sisters Thursday morning. Two passengers, a 56-year-old woman from Madras, and a 27-year-old man from Bend were also sent to St. Charles Bend with non-life threatening injuries. A resource deputy with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was on patrol in Sisters when he was alerted to the crash near the intersection of East Cascade Avenue and North Larch Street.
“The deputy quickly arrived on scene to find a 2011 Chevrolet pick-up pulling a 21 foot toy hauler trailer, which had left the roadway, struck a light pole, went into a gravel drainage ditch and then impacted a large tree,” according to DCSO. “After a brief assessment of the driver, the deputy realized the driver was not breathing. A DCSO City of Sisters deputy arrived shortly afterward and together they removed the driver from the vehicle. The deputies then began performing CPR on the driver and were joined moments later by an off duty paramedic from the Black Butte Ranch Fire Department and an off duty nurse. Working together, they continued CPR on the driver and utilized an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) until medics from the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District arrived and took over lifesaving efforts. The driver was transported to St. Charles in Bend for continued care.”
Deputies interviewed the passengers in the vehicle and other witnesses to the crash. The investigation determined the driver was heading westbound on Highway 20 and entered Sisters when he is believed to have experienced a sudden medical emergency and became unconscious. The other passengers in the vehicle attempted to re-gain control of the vehicle, however they were unable to do so. The two passengers were also transported to St. Charles in Bend with non-life threatening injuries.
