Last Friday morning, a pedestrian, Glenn Curtis Watkins, 28, of Bend, was fatally struck by a vehicle on Highway 97 near milepost 128 in Deschutes County, Oregon. The incident happened just after 4:12 a.m., and Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene, as reported by the Oregon State Police.
Steven Thomas Lakey, 54, the driver of a northbound Ford Town & Country, was reported to be unharmed. The highway was closed for about three hours during the investigation, causing significant traffic disruption. Authorities are still looking into why Watkins was on the roadway, but the investigation has not yet provided clear answers, according to the Oregon State Police.
Multiple agencies, including the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Redmond Police, ODOT, and Oregon State Police, are working together after a tragic incident. The Oregon State Police's Collision Reconstruction Unit is leading the investigation. Known for their expertise, the CRU uses advanced tools, like drones, and highly trained experts to carefully analyze the crash and figure out what led to Watkins' death, as stated by the Oregon State Police.
