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Impaired, distracted driving suspected to be cause of serious crash in Federal Way

Published 2:25 pm Monday, May 8, 2017

Impaired, distracted driving suspected to be cause of serious crash in Federal Way
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Impaired, distracted driving suspected to be cause of serious crash in Federal Way
Pacific Highway South between South 340th and South 344th was closed following a two-car collision that sent two people to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries and a third to a local hospital with minor injuries. Police believe the driver of the first vehicle, which struck a vehicle head on, was impaired and distracted, according to a police spokesperson. Photo courtesy South King Fire & Rescue Pacific Highway South, between South 340th and South 344th, was closed following a two-car collision that sent two people to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries , Monday. Police believe the driver of the first vehicle, which struck a second head on, was impaired and distracted, according to a police spokesperson. Photo courtesy South King County Fire & Rescue

A section of Pacific Highway South in Federal Way was closed for several hours Monday following a head-on collision that took place a little before 1 p.m.

Pacific Highway South was closed between South 340th through South 344th streets in Federal Way following the crash, and officers investigated the head-on collision, which took place in the 34000 block of Pacific Highway South. Police department spokeswoman Cathy Schrock said police believe a 21-year-old Federal Way man was driving erratically northbound on the highway and used the two-way left-turn lane to pass traffic, which was backed up due to construction. As he did so, he veered into the southbound lane, colliding with a vehicle driven by a 50-year-old Federal Way man, according to Schrock.

The collision was severe, and both drivers were transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The investigation is on-going, and toxicology results are pending from the 21-year-old driver. Schrock said police believe impairment and distracted driving caused the crash.

Schrock said, as of Wednesday, the victim driver was stable and was expected to be released from the hospital, while the driver who crossed the center line was still in critical condition. A third person was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.

According to South King County Fire & Rescue’s Capt. Jeff Bellinghausen, firefighters had to use the jaws of life to extricate the two drivers involved.

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