PORT ANGELES — An elderly Port Angeles man had been upgraded to serious condition after surgery Saturday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the minivan he was driving was struck by a semi on U.S. Highway 101 east of Port Angeles on Friday.
Timothy K. Nobuhara, 83, was airlifted from Olympic Medical Center to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the 10:30 a.m. Friday wreck, and was listed then as in critical condition.
His passenger, Irene Nobuhara, 84, also of Port Angeles, was listed in stable condition at OMC at noon Saturday.
Timothy Nobuhara was driving a 2004 Toyota Sienna turning left onto U.S. Highway 101 from Monroe Road when he was hit by a 2019 Freightliner semi truck with a 53-foot trailer driven by Michael J.A. Wilson, 36, of Vancouver, Wash,. on Highway 101, the State Patrol said.
Wilson was cited with negligent driving, troopers said, adding that he failed to stop at a traffic light.
Clallam County Fire District No. 2 and the Port Angeles Fire Department used hydraulic extrication tools to free the trapped driver, Clallam 2 Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Jake Patterson said.
Both Nobuharas were transported by ambulance to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles before the driver was airlifted to Harborview.
Wilson was not injured.
The eastbound lanes of the highway were blocked from about 10:30 a.m. to noon Friday, said Trooper Chelsea Hodgson, State Patrol spokeswoman.
All three persons involved in the crash were wearing seat belts, according to the State Patrol. Drugs or alcohol were not involved.
Two off-duty Clallam 2 Fire Rescue firefighter/paramedics were waiting for a light at the U.S. Highway 101-Monroe Road intersection at the time of the crash and immediately began to assess the situation, Patterson said.
Mutual aid was requested from the Port Angeles Fire Department to assist with patient care and extrication.
Clallam 2 Fire Rescue had one ambulance, two fire engines and one command vehicle on scene.
Olympic Ambulance responded with one ambulance, and the Port Angeles Fire Department responded with one ambulance and one fire engine, Patterson said.
“A total of 23 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the incident,” Patterson said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
