PORT ANGELES — Jimie Richmond may be beat up on the outside, but he’s warm on the inside from all the well-wishes he’s been receiving.
The 61-year-old Clallam Transit bus driver could have been killed on Tuesday when an erratic driver in a 1999 Ford pickup with a camper attached crossed the centerline and smashed into the Route No. 14 bus on U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles.
Friends, family and his passengers have been sending Richmond little gifts along with their thoughts, which has helped ease some the pain of a broken leg, three broken teeth and all the cuts, scrapes and gashes.
“I’ve been getting lots of cards and letters,” Richmond said. “That made me feel good.”
Were it not for Richmond’s instinctive move to the right before impact, the pickup driver and possibly others would have died in Tuesday’s, the State Patrol told Richmond.
“He hit me at a glancing blow, which is lucky,” Richmond said.
“It was just a reflex. I’m sure it’s what any driver would have done.”
After the crash, Brandon K. Foth, 30, of Wildomar, Calif., rolled his pickup and camper into a driveway on the south side of the road. He was trapped inside, and was taken out of the pickup with “jaws of life” rescue equipment.
Foth was flown from Olympic Medical Center to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center on Tuesday.
He was listed in serious condition in the intensive care unit Friday. He had been in critical condition on Wednesday.
Three of Richmond’s 13 bus passengers were treated for minor injuries at OMC and released.
The wreck blocked Highway 101 in both directions for more than four hours. The state Department of Transportation opened the roadway at 9:15 p.m.
Extensive injuries
Richmond’s injuries were substantial but not life-threatening. X-rays confirmed that he has a broken bone in his left leg. He says it should heal by itself.
Richmond lost one tooth and damaged three others in the wreck. He’ll need surgery to repair a tendon in his left hand.
Blood filled into Richmond’s right eyelid, and he has countless cuts and scrapes from glass and sheet metal from the camper.
“I’m still picking pieces out of my skin,” he said.
“I didn’t realize how bad it was. … We were all pretty lucky.”
Prescription drugs
The State Patrol says prescription drugs were involved in the crash.
Trooper Krista Hedstrom, State Patrol spokeswoman, said that Foth had taken some sort of medication, and that he may be cited for driving under intoxication once the results of a blood test performed on him becomes available.
Witnesses say Foth was driving at more than 65 mph and blowing through stop signs on residential Port Angeles streets before the head-on wreck.
The State Patrol confirmed that Foth sideswiped a Jeep Cherokee before driving into the bus.
Not angry
Although he could have been killed, Richmond says he’s not angry at Foth.
“I don’t know the situation,” Richmond said.
“He could have had a bad reaction to some medication. You really don’t know. He may be a super-nice guy who took some medicine that reacted weird on him. There’s no point being angry with anybody.
“My main concern was for my passengers.”
After making his scheduled 5:11 p.m. stop at Laird’s Corner, Richmond turned eastbound on U.S. Highway 101.
He was doing about 40 mph in the left lane as he tried to merge.
The No. 14 bus was on its way back to Port Angeles from Forks.
Richmond couldn’t move from the middle acceleration lane to the right lane because a red Geo Metro car was directly to the right of the bus.
“I was merging over and here this guy [Foth] comes into my lane,” Richmond said.
“I don’t remember any of it.”
The next thing Richmond remembers is waking up in a hospital bed at OMC.
Gentle nudge?
If it’s possible to gently nudge a Geo Metro with a 40-foot bus, Richmond pulled it off.
The Geo’s driver, Michael Middleton, of Forks, was not injured. The compact car came thorugh the wreck with about $1,000 worth of damage, the State Patrol estimated, rather than being totally destroyed.
“He [Middleton] said it was smooth and gentle,” Richmond said.
“He was thankful. He said I did it prefectly.”
The Geo ended up in the eastbound ditch in front of the Clallam Transit bus at Milepost 243, which is just east of the intersection with state Highway 112.
The bus sustained an estimated $10,000 in damage, the State Patrol said.
Doctors stitched up Richmond’s forehead and send him home on Wednesday.
Once he’s fully recovered, the former Astoria, Ore., millworker will climb back into the driver’s seat of a Clallam Transit bus, where he has enjoyed his work for the past 14 years.
“I can’t wait to get back,” said Richmond, who added that he enjoys the interaction he has with the regular passengers.
“I work with excellent people. It’s more like a family job than a real job.”
Richmond lives with his wife, Susan, in west Port Angeles. He has six children, a stepchild and 24 grandkids, all of whom are glad he’s a good bus driver.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
