SEQUIM — A 66-year-old Sequim man is dead and a 70-year-old Sequim man was hospitalized in serious condition after a two-truck wreck on Old Olympic Highway northwest of Sequim on Saturday morning.
Eric Ambush, 66, was traveling north in a Ford pickup truck on the north-south stretch of Old Olympic Highway at about 9:15 a.m. when a southbound 2000 Ford pickup truck driven by 70-year-old Bernard Emmert of Sequim veered into Ambush’s lane, striking the other truck head-on, Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Ley said.
Ambush was pronounced dead at the scene, Ley said.
Emmert was transported to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles with injuries requiring surgery. He was listed in serious condition Sunday.
The wreck happened on Old Olympic Highway about 100 yards north of Mantle Road, Ley said.
What caused Emmert’s truck to veer into the oncoming lane remained under investigation Saturday afternoon, Ley said.
“We’re still evaluating if it was vehicle condition, medical condition or other factors,” Ley said, adding that there were no obvious signs that speed was a factor, although speed has yet to be ruled out.
No other people were involved in the wreck, Ley added.
Both lanes of Old Olympic Highway were closed between Towne Road to the north and Kendall Road to the south for about seven hours Saturday, Ley said, although people living on that stretch of Old Olympic Highway were allowed access to their homes.
Paramedics from Clallam County Fire District No. 3 and officers from the Sequim Police Department assisted after the crash, Ley said.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
