A Prineville man died in a crash after getting ejected from the vehicle driven by an allegedly impaired driver.

According to county law enforcement officials, the crash was reported at 2:49 p.m. on Sunday, May 25. Deputies from the Crook County Sheriff’s Office and emergency responders from Crook County Fire and Rescue were dispatched to multiple reports of the crash on Northwest Lamonta Road near Grass Lane in Prineville. Initial reports to 911 indicated that one vehicle had crashed into a building and that the passenger had been ejected from the vehicle.

Deputies arrived on the scene and located the vehicle and the occupants involved. Deputies immediately began life-saving measures on the male passenger, later identified as Rodney Stephens of Prineville, and the female driver, later identified as Ladonna Erickson of Redmond.

Medics arrived on the scene and declared Stephens deceased (next of kin was notified) and transported Erickson to St. Charles Medical Center–Prineville with minor injuries.

The preliminary investigation revealed that Erickson was operating a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer northbound on Northwest Lamonta Road just after the corner and left the northbound lane of travel for unknown reasons, colliding head-on with a building belonging to Fontana Wood Products. Authorities reported that Stephens was ejected from the vehicle. The Chevy Trailblazer continued for a short distance after colliding with the building.

Erickson was later contacted and interviewed at St. Charles Medical Center-Prineville, where she was taken into custody and lodged at the Crook County Jail on the charges of DUII, reckless endangering, reckless driving and second-degree manslaughter. The investigation is ongoing.

Northwest Lamonta Road between Gumpert Road and Sunset Lane was closed for several hours due to the investigation. It was eventually opened to one lane while waiting for the vehicle to be removed from the scene.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Oregon State Police, Prineville Police Department, Crook County Road Department, Crook County Fire and Rescue, Whispering Pines Funeral Home and STAR Towing.