Logging truck accident closes Highway 525

A State Trooper with the State Patrol helps investigate a collision between a Ford Taurus and a logging truck south of Freeland Wednesday morning. - Brian Kelly / The Record
Brian Kelly / The Record
A State Trooper with the State Patrol helps investigate a collision between a Ford Taurus and a logging truck south of Freeland Wednesday morning.

January 25, 2012 · 8:49 AM

FREELAND - A driver hit the back end of a loaded logging truck and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after an early morning crash on Highway 525 at Scott Road early Wednesday morning.

The highway is currently closed to traffic as the Washington State Patrol continues its investigation. The highway is expected to reopen at approximately 9 a.m.

Trooper Scott Wernecke with the State Patrol said the logging truck had been stopped at Scott Road, and was struck just after pulling out onto the highway.

"The truck had pretty much straightened out on the highway when it got rear-ended," Wernecke said.

The collision happened just before 6 a.m. The car that hit the truck, a four-door Ford Taurus, was totaled in the accident.

The driver was taken to South Whidbey High School, where he was picked up by a medical evacuation helicopter.

Wernecke said the man was believed to have pelvic injuries.

Neighbors near the accident site said they heard the crash, and the horn on the Taurus was also jammed for some time after the collision.

Traffic is being diverted from Highway 525 onto side streets and through Freeland as the investigation continues.

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