Driver Arrested After Highway 97 Crash and Vehicle Fire Near Bend

BEND, Ore. — An 18-year-old Powell Butte man was arrested after a single-vehicle crash early Monday morning on Highway 97 south of 61st Street that caused the vehicle to catch fire and closed the highway for nearly an hour.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash at about 4:21 a.m. Sept. 21. Deputies said a 1992 Subaru SVX driven by Seoan Padraic Mooney struck a highway barrier before catching fire.

Witnesses reported seeing Mooney traveling at a high rate of speed in the southbound lanes before the crash, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Mooney was the only person in the vehicle and was able to get out on his own before the fire spread. Bend Fire & Rescue responded and extinguished the fire.

Mooney was arrested on a citation and taken to St. Charles Bend for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

He faces charges of DUII, reckless driving, reckless endangering and first-degree criminal mischief.

The Sheriff’s Office thanked Bend Fire & Rescue, the Oregon Department of Transportation and 911 dispatchers for their assistance at the scene.