BEND, Ore. — The man accused of causing a three-vehicle crash that killed a family of four from Troutdale in October turned himself in this week and has been arraigned on four counts of first-degree manslaughter, Oregon State Police announced Friday. Jesse Carl Ross, 43, also faces charges of charges DUII, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.
Gary Rutledge, 57, his wife Michelle Jean Windsor Rutledge, 53, and their children Ryan Rutledge, 17 and Kate Rutledge, 15 were driving south on Highway 97 in Redmond, Oregon on Oct. 12 when Ross's pickup truck crossed the center line, sideswiped a commercial truck and hit the family's SUV head-on. The SUV caught fire and all four family members died.
Neighbors in Troutdale told KGW that the family had been on their way south to watch the annular solar eclipse that was going to be visible on the morning of Oct. 14. Ryan and Kate were both students at Reynolds High School, and neighbors described the family as a central part of their tight-knit neighborhood.
Ross was seriously injured in the crash and taken to a hospital, according to an OSP news release at the time. It's not clear exactly when he was released from the hospital; an OSP news release on Friday said a nationwide warrant for his arrest had been issued after he was indicted on the four counts of manslaughter, and he turned himself in at the Deschutes County Jail on Tuesday.
He was arraigned Thursday and his bail was set at $2 million, OSP said. He remains in jail as of Friday, according to the county's online roster.
