Craig Gerard Russillo was 55 and lived in Bend. On Tuesday evening October 13 he was driving his Subaru Outback eastbound on Highway 26. Around 6:22 p.m. near milepost 62 in Wasco County a van came at him from the other direction.
The white Ford Transit van crossed the center line. It hit Craig’s car head-on. The Subaru caught fire right away. People driving by stopped and pulled Craig out of the burning vehicle. He was already gone. Crews pronounced him dead at the scene.
Alexander Nikkole Meira was the one behind the wheel of the van. He is 20 and from Portland. He got only minor injuries. Hospital staff treated him and then police took him into custody.
Oregon State Police say impairment played a part in the crash. Meira faces charges of DUII, reckless driving and second-degree manslaughter. He is being held at the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility.
The road stayed closed for about five hours while investigators worked the scene. Fire crews, medics and deputies from more than one county helped out.
Craig’s family and friends in Bend are left with the sudden loss. One moment he was on the road. The next everything changed.
People who knew him remember a man whose life ended too soon on that stretch of highway near Government Camp.
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