DIAMOND POINT — A 27-year-old Port Angeles man was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the pickup truck he was driving crossed the centerline Monday on U.S. Highway 101 near Guiles Road, the Washington State Patrol reported.
James Alan Belardi was listed in satisfactory condition at Harborview on Monday night.
The crash involved five vehicles — including a semi tractor-trailer — and blocked east and westbound traffic for more than an hour while the State Patrol investigated and others cleared the highway of blocking vehicles and debris.
Westbound motorists were using Chicken Coop Road to detour around the crash scene to Blyn.
The crash occurred at about 11:30 a.m., and Belardi was transported by ambulance to Diamond Point Airport, where Northwest Airlift transported him to Harborview.
No other injuries were reported and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Belardi, who was under State Patrol investigation for failure to keep right of the centerline, was recovering from a broken arm.
According to the State Patrol:
Belardi was eastbound on Highway 101 when his 1995 Ford F250 pickup truck struck a 2005 Dodge Caravan driven by Penelope N. Hansen, 62, of Sequim, and then a 1995 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by David Dearing Jr., 66, of Sequim.
Belardi’s truck then struck a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder driven by Kathleen L. Faias, 41 of Sequim.
The impact forced Faias’ vehicle off the right side of the road and into a grassy field.
Dearing and Faias’ damaged vehicles towed from the scene.
The other vehicles were slightly damaged and driven away.
Belardi’s truck then veer toward a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado, forcing the driver, Albert C. Hills Jr., 57 of Indianola, to leave the road to avoid a collision, troopers said.
Hills’ vehicle was not damaged.
Passengers in Hills’ vehicle were Teresa L. Heather, 42, of Poulsbo, and Emma R. Harvey, 21 of Bainbridge Island.
All were wearing seat belts at the time of the crashes.
Belardi’s pickup, which was destroyed, came to rest on the westbound shoulder facing eastbound.
There was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, the State Patrol reported.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
