PORT TOWNSEND — An 85-year-old Canadian tourist drove his car into an empty, parked Jefferson Transit bus on Tuesday afternoon because of a medical problem, according to preliminary reports from the Port Townsend Police Department.
Doctors at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle determined that Fred McLarty, 85, of London, Ontario suffered either a seizure or a stroke, said the Canadian man’s grandson, Andrew McLarty, the Port Angeles Calvary Chapel pastor, on Wednesday.
Fred McLarty had been driving from Alberta, British Columbia, to Port Angeles to visit his grandson.
Serious condition
Harborview spokesperson Susan Gregg-Hanson said Wednesday that Fred McLarty was listed in serious condition and was in the intensive care unit.
His erratic driving was determined to be the cause of the crash, said Port Townsend Sgt. Ed Green.
Police gave this account of the wreck.
At about 4:11 p.m., the Canadian man’s McLarty’s Silver Toyota Yaris, a rental car from Alberta, entered a parking lot heading east from Landes Street at what witnesses described as both erratic and at high speed.
The car jumped the curb and struck the empty bus, which was parked in the turnaround and ready to load passengers. No one was struck by the car.
Visitors’ Center Manager Karen Anderson saw the crash and employee David Harrah and driver Eldon Burrow rushed out to provide assistance.
Seeing that McLarty was conscious, they opened the car door and helped him to the sidewalk, where he stood while leaning on a post.
After a few seconds he spun around and landed on his back.
East Jefferson Fire-Rescue personnel assisted him. He was airlifted to Harborview.
Worried about him
Andrew McLarty had already called his family with concern about his grandfather’s late arrival when Port Townsend police told him what had happened.
Police said that the wreck itself was not serious, but that Fred McLarty’s condition after crash necessitated his airlift to Harborview.
Andrew McLarty visited his grandfather on Wednesday afternoon, saying that the older man “was conscious but tired.”
He did not know whether his grandfather would travel back to Port Angeles or return home for recuperation.
The car is currently at Northwest Towing and Recovery.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
