EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been corrected to reflect that the injured driver was leaving the Dollar Tree parking lot east of Port Angeles.
PORT ANGELES — A woman injured in a rollover wreck on U.S. Highway 101 on Sunday was in serious condition at a Seattle hospital Monday.
Lila M. Betts, 63, of Port Angeles was taken to Olympic Medical Center on Sunday evening then flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
She was in serious condition and improving in the intensive care unit Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The wreck took place at about 5:19 p.m. Sunday on Highway 101 at North Masters Road east of Port Angeles, and two-way traffic on the 4-lane stretch was reduced to two lanes for more than two hours.
Betts, driving a red 2000 Chevrolet Blazer, pulled out of the Dollar Tree parking lot in an attempt to cross Highway 101 to North Masters Road, according to a State Patrol report.
The exit from the Dollar Tree is marked as a right-turn only ramp onto eastbound Highway 101.
Edward J. Hogan, 45, of Port Angeles was driving a silver 2004 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck eastbound on Highway 101, and the Colorado hit the blazer in the eastbound lane, the report said.
The Blazer was struck on the driver’s side, flipped on its passenger side by the impact and rolled into the westbound lanes.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Federline was first on the scene and found the Blazer on its side, engine still running and gasoline pouring from the fuel tank and running down the road, said Chief Sam Phillips of Clallam County Fire District No. 2.
Federline used his duty baton to break the front windshield of the Blazer to turn off the ignition, Phillips said.
Fire District No. 2 firefighters had to remove the roof of the Blazer to extricate Betts from the wreckage.
They stabilized the vehicle with rescue struts, covered Betts with a blanket and placed an emergency medical technician inside with her while the roof was cut off, Phillips said.
Hogan, who was not injured, pulled his Colorado off the highway and onto North Masters Road.
Betts was not wearing a seat belt and was cited for failure to yield, the State Patrol said.
No drugs or alcohol were suspected to be involved in the wreck.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputies and U.S. Border Patrol agents assisted with traffic control at the scene while firefighters freed Betts and cleaned up the fuel spill, and while State Patrol troopers investigated the wreck.
The road was cleared and reopened at about 7:30 p.m.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
