SHINE — A Port Angeles man was airlifted to a Seattle hospital Monday afternoon after the van he was driving crashed into an oncoming semi on state Highway 104 west of the Hood Canal Bridge.
The collision backed up traffic for about two miles in either direction for more than 90 minutes.
The Washington State Patrol reported that Joseph Visell, 51, of Port Angeles was driving eastbound in a white 1994 Mazda MPV van with his wife, Nancy, 49, and 13-year-old son, Richard, when he fell asleep.
The van crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic, said Trooper Jason Fallon.
It collided with a westbound 2007 Volvo semi pulling a box trailer driven by Theodore J. Duncan, 47, of Port Angeles.
The collision occurred about four miles west of the Hood Canal Bridge.
‘Van drifted’
“The van drifted across the centerline and struck the side of the trailer,” Fallon said.
“There’s absolutely no indication that the truck crossed the centerline.”
Jefferson County emergency response crews quickly arrived at the scene and determined that Joseph Visell had internal injuries and a broken hip.
They decided to airlift him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
His wife and son, who sustained a bump on the head, were taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend, Fallon said.
Duncan was not injured.
