16-Year-Old Biker Crushed to Death By Truck in Bend, OR Accident

Date:  July 25, 2011
Location:  Intersection Reed Market Road and SE Pettigrew Road, Bend
Names:  Forrest Cepeda, Erik Mackenzie Conn

Bend residents expressed frustration and outrage as an accident at a notorious intersection claimed the life of a local 16-year-old boy Monday night.

Police Lieutenant Brian Kindel says that at approximately 7 p.m., Forrest Cepeda was riding his bike east on Reed Market Road, near the intersection with SE Pettigrew Road.  At the same time, a 1996 Dodge pickup truck towing a dual-axle trailer was being driven westbound on the same road by Erik Mackenzie, 28, of La Pine. According to the report on KTVZ.com, Mackenzie was forced to brake to avoid cars in front of him that had slowed as they approached the intersection with SE Pettigrew Road. The truck’s brakes locked up, causing the vehicle to go out of control.  It went off the road, hit a rock fence, then spun, striking Cepeda and crushing him against a wall.  Witnesses said the way the truck was positioned and how it spun around led them to believe speed must have been involved, but police have yet to issue any charges.

A nurse in a car witnessed the accident and rushed to perform CPR on Cepeda, but tragically, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.  Residents of the area are incensed, as they say this tragedy is just another reminder of serious safety issues on Reed Market Road the city has failed to address.  And it could have been even worse.  A teenager who has not been named was a passenger on Cepeda’s bike at the time of the accident, but miraculously, he was unharmed.  Kristin Thomas, who lives in the area, said, “We have pulled people out of cars at this intersection time after time from wrecks.”

Conn and his passenger, 28-year-old Stacie Lee, also of La Pine, were uninjured in the accident, according to Bend Police Lieutenant Ben Gregory.

We would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Forrest Cepeda, who would have been starting his junior year at Marshall High School.

This kind of collision also raises questions about the overall safety of Oregon roadways for bikes and bikers. Forrest Cepeda’s family may want to consider consulting a personal injury attorney with experience in bicycle accidents about their options in this case – and to do so soon. While the normal time limit for filing an Oregon injury lawsuit is 2 years, if the victim’s family decides to sue the City of Bend for creating what appears to be a dangerous bike intersection, they must file a tort claim notice within 180 days of the incident. This time limit is strict. Failure to meet it would mean losing all rights to hold the city or county responsible for creating a dangerous situation.