PORT ANGELES — A downtown high-speed wreck sent a man to Olympic Medical Center and snarled eastbound traffic in Port Angeles on Thursday.
An unidentified man between the ages of 30 and 40 apparently “suffered a medical event” as he drove a gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck east on West First Street at about 2:30 p.m., said Sgt. Glen Roggenbuck of the Port Angeles Police Department.
His car accelerated to 40 to 50 mph in a 20 mph speed zone, ran a red light at Oak Street, then smashed into the back of a white Toyota Tacoma pickup stopped at the Laurel Street traffic light in front of the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain, Roggenbuck said.
The white Tacoma was knocked across the intersection. The gray Tacoma sheared off a street sign and came to rest partially on the north sidewalk.
VIDEO of the crash scene courtesy of Lucinda Graniel — click on: https://youtu.be/u46WPbrlldI
Police did not identify the driver of the gray Tacoma truck, who was taken to OMC in Port Angeles.
It was not known if the man was injured in the wreck or if his condition was entirely due to the medical event that precipitated the chain of events, Roggenbuck said.
The driver of the white Tacoma, Gary Hussey, 64, of Port Angeles, was apparently not injured.
“It smacked pretty hard,” Hussey said.
He said he planned to get a medical exam later.
Laurel Street was closed from Front Street to First Street for emergency vehicles.
West First Street was restricted to one land. Traffic was backed up to Cherry Street.
Both streets were fully reopened at about 3:30 p.m.
Both trucks were severely damaged.
Much of the front and right side of the gray Tacoma was crushed, while the white Tacoma’s drive train was on the ground and the bed of the truck bent and twisted, the tailgate dangling from one side.
There were no apparent skid marks to indicate that the driver of the gray truck attempted to stop, Roggenbuck said.
Neither drugs nor alcohol was thought to be involved in the wreck, Roggenbuck said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
