A Bend driver swerved to avoid a deer on a La Pine road late Monday night, causing his car to roll and sending one of two passengers to the hospital, Deschutes County sheriff's deputies said.

Deputies and La Pine Fire medics responded to the crash around 11:20 p.m. on State Recreation Road near Huntington Road, said sheriff's Sgt. Ronny Dozier. They arrived to find a white 2006 Pontiac G6 on its passenger side on the east side of the road, he said.

An investigation and interviews determined a deer ran out in front of the car. Driver Kelly J. Meyer, 42, of Bend, swerved to avoid hitting the deer and lost control of the car, which slid sideways across the oncoming lane and rolled at least once on the shoulder of the road.

Meyer and right-front passenger Daniel J. Webb, 45, also of Bend, were wearing seat belts. Both were evaluated by La Pine EMTs and released at the scene, Dozier said.

The rear passenger, Patricia I. Crossley, 33, also of Bend, was not wearing a seaet belt and was taken by ambulance to St. Charles-Bend with what Dozier termed "significant injuries." She was listed in fair condition Tuesday morning, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

"The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office would like to remind drivers that with milder temperatures and spring right around the corner,  deer are starting to return from the wintering grounds out east," Dozier wrote. encouraging "drivers to slow down and watch out for the animals."