Bicyclist hit by car airlifted to Everett

A bicyclist pedaling on the side of State Highway 525 north of Freeland was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon when he was struck by a car, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A press memo from the State Patrol states that 24-year-old Stephen Cairns of Seattle was bicycling southward on the side of the highway near the intersection with Mutiny Bay Road when a 2002 Honda Civic, driven by Brittany Wright, 26, of Oak Harbor, traveled onto the shoulder and collided with the bicyclist.

Both the bicyclist and the car came to a rest in the ditch, the memo states.

The accident was reported at 12:37 p.m.

Cairns was airlifted to Providence Hospital in Everett for treatment. The State Patrol reported that he sustained a broken leg. A spokesperson from the hospital said Cairns is in critical condition as of Friday morning.

Wright was also transported to Providence Hospital in Everett after complaining of abdominal injuries, the State Patrol reported. She has since been released.

The cause of the collision is still under investigation, according to the State Patrol. Trooper Anthony Reese said Wright is currently under investigation on suspicion of vehicular assault.

Reese said that, before the accident occurred, two different people from two different locations called in to report Wright’s vehicle as being driven by someone possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

According to the State Patrol’s memo, it’s unknown yet whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the collision.