QUILCENE — Three people — one of them a child — were take to hospitals Monday afternoon after a collision between a dump truck and an SUV on U.S. Highway 101.
The severity of the injuries to the adults was uncertain but could be severe, and they were taken by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said Quilcene Fire Chief Larry Karp.
The toddler was taken by ambulance to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, Karp said.
U.S. Highway 101 north of Quilcene was initially blocked in both directions for about two hours and was then opened to one lane of alternating traffic.
The roadway was reopened to two-way traffic shortly before 6 p.m., the state Department of Transportation reported.
At about 1:45 p.m., Wambli Nevermissashot, 23, of Quilcene was driving a gray Jeep SUV with two passengers: Cynthia Nevermissashot, 53, of Quilcene and a two-year-old girl, said Trooper Russ Winger, spokesman for the State Patrol.
Nevermissashot attempted to make a left turn from a residential driveway onto northbound Highway 101 near Leland Valley Cutoff Road north of Quilcene, Winger said.
Ronald Watson, 49, of Oregon City, Ore., was driving a fully loaded asphalt dump truck and trailer southbound on Highway 101 and was unable to stop his truck before hitting the Jeep broadside, Winger said.
The Jeep then rolled and landed in a roadside ditch, passenger side down.
Firefighters from Quilcene Fire Department arrived with multiple units, and extricated an adult man and woman, and a toddler, Karp said.
The adult patients were still being evaluated in the emergency room early Monday evening, and no condition was yet available, according to a Harborview spokeswoman.
The condition of the child was not available, as hospital policy prevents information about a minor from being released without parental consent, a Harrison spokesman said.
Watson declined treatment at the scene, he said.
Firefighters and medical units from all five Jefferson County fire-rescue departments arrived to assist during the rescue efforts, Karp said.
The response included about 20 personnel and 10 vehicles, including four medical units, from Quilcene Fire Department, Brinnon Fire Department, Port Ludlow Fire-Rescue, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue, and Jefferson County Fire District No. 5.
There was no suspicion of drugs or alcohol being involved in the wreck, Winger said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
