FORKS — Police are seeking a man who fled on foot after a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 101 about 2 miles south of Forks that sent the two people in the other car to a hospital with minor injuries.
Two Olympia-area residents — Christopher Patterson, 31, and Arlene Casas, 37 — had been discharged from Forks Community Hospital by 5 p.m. today (Wednesday) after the wreck just before 3 p.m.
The white Pontiac sedan that Patterson was driving south on Highway 101 collided with a red Honda that pulled out of a private driveway without yielding to highway traffic, said Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman.
After the collision, the Honda “pulled back into the driveway and the driver got out an ran,” Winger said.
“He fled,” Winger said.
“He’s still outstanding.”
Four passengers in the Honda stayed in the car after the wreck and identified the driver, said Winger, who declined to name the man until the investigation is finished.
“Until we can definitely identify him, we won’t release his name,” Winger said.
“We think he is from Forks area,” he said, adding that police are checking for outstanding warrants.
Forks police likely know where the driver of the red Honda lives and will try to contact him, according to Sgt. Mike Rowley of the Forks Police Department.
None of the passengers in the Honda were thought to have been hurt, Winger said.
The wreck closed the highway for a half-hour.
The investigation is continuing, Winger added.
In addition to State Patrol troopers, Forks police, a Clallam County Sheriff’s deputy and Clallam County Fire District 1 crews responded to the wreck.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
