Jeff Rauenbuehler and Nat Taie were heading back to the dorms on Feb. 27 like they do every evening.

“I was just crossing the crosswalk,” Rauenbuehler said. “I saw a car coming, so I started kind of jogging, thinking he’d slow down.”

The driver didn’t slow down, however, and both Rauenbuehler and Taie were hit at approximately 5:30 p.m.

“I fell to the ground, my face to the ground,” Rauenbuehler said. “My first thought was ‘I’ve got to get out of the road.”

Taie was hit in the leg, but Rauenbuehler took the hit in the head.

Tracy Glover, manager of the Campus Center Coffeeshop, didn’t see the accident but was alerted of the event when Rauenbuehler and Taie came in.

“They came in looking for napkins for [Rauenbuehler’s] bleeding head and I said ‘I need to call Campus Public Safety,’” Glover said.

Campus Public Safety officer Adam Neider was the first to respond. He called the Bend Police Department immediately.

The driver, Jeffrey Valadez, was arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and two counts of third degree assault.
Rauenbuehler had a friend drive him to the hospital.

Scott Greenstone
The Broadside
[email protected]