A 17-year-old Bend male was jailed for criminal negligent homicide after crashing a pickup into the Wickiup Reservoir killing a 16-year-old male passenger. Authorities say alcohol and reckless driving were contributing factors in the crash. Three other passengers were sent to St. Charles Hospital with serious injuries. According to a news release from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office:
On June 28, 2021 at approximately 11:49 PM the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a motor vehicle crash at Wickiup Reservoir. The vehicle was reported to be occupied while it was submerged under water. Upon arrival deputies observed the Ford F150 completely under water. They also learned that there had been a total of five people in the vehicle when it crashed into the water, and all but one had been able to get out of the vehicle.
Two of the passengers were transported to St. Charles in Bend by ground ambulance with serious injuries. A third passenger went to St. Charles by private vehicle with non-life threatening injuries.
During the investigation, deputies determined the driver had been driving under the influence of alcohol and driving recklessly on the lakebed at the time of the crash.
The driver was jailed at the Deschutes County Juvenile Detention Center on the above mentioned charges. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by a search and rescue dive team, the Bend Police Department, Deschutes County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the La Pine Fire Department. This case is still active and no further information will be released at this time.
