Highway reopens after logging truck crash, driver identified | UPDATE

The Washington State Patrol has reopened Highway 525 after an early morning logging truck accident that injured a 20-year-old Clinton man.

By Brian Kelly • January 25, 2012 1:14 pm
A trooper with the Washington State Patrol takes a photograph of a truck-and-vehicle crash that closed Highway 525 Wednesday.
A trooper with the Washington State Patrol takes a photograph of a truck-and-vehicle crash that closed Highway 525 Wednesday.

The Washington State Patrol has reopened Highway 525 after an early morning logging truck accident that injured a 20-year-old Clinton man.

The State Patrol said Craig Justus was driving south in a 1995 Ford Taurus when he rear-ended a 1986 Peterbuilt semi-trailer truck that was carrying a full load of logs.

The driver of the truck, Richard Gabelein, 67, was not injured in the crash.

The highway was shut down for nearly three hours after the 6 a.m. accident Wednesday. Traffic was routed along Newman Road, and then through Freeland.

Justus was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with injuries that were described as serious.

The State Patrol said the truck driver pulled out onto Highway 525 at Scott Road and failed to yield the right of way. The Ford Taurus then hit the back end of the semi-trailer truck, and the front end of the vehicle crumpled underneath the logging truck.

No charges are expected.