Two car crashes on Wednesday in Clinton did not result in any injuries, though one could have been much worse.
A 17-year-old boy was westbound on Maxwelton Road in a Ford Excursion at about 12:30 p.m. when he went too fast around a corner. He lost control, swerved across the median, went off the roadway into an embankment and flipped over. His vehicle slid on its roof for about 75 feet across the median, removing the roof rack at the same time, before stopping on the edge of the road.
“He came through the curve too hot,” said Island County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Christian Hiatt.
He was uninjured in the crash and extricated himself from the vehicle. He was not transported to a hospital and was taken home by his parents
It was a fortunate outcome on Valentine’s Day in Hiatt’s eyes.
“I would say he was pretty lucky,” Hiatt said.
The crash occurred in a 35-miles-per-hour zone. Hiatt did not know how fast the driver was going.
He also gave a word of advice to younger drivers.
“Slow down and pay attention to the roadway,” Hiatt said.
Debris from the crash was spread across the road, though whether the vehicle was totaled was hard to say, according South Whidbey Fire/EMS Deputy Chief Wendy Moffatt.
The debris was cleaned up by South Whidbey Fire/EMS, while the car was removed from the road by Simmons Towing. The road was closed in both directions about 30 minutes.
Attempts to identify the driver have been unsuccessful.
A two-car collision earlier in the day was much tamer.
South Whidbey Fire/EMS Deputy Chief Mike Cotton said a “smaller” vehicle rear-ended another car while it was stopped on Highway 525 near the intersection of Highway 525 and Maxwelton Road.
One vehicle’s air bag deployed, while both suffered minor damage.
Though multiple passengers were involved, no one was injured.
Details regarding the identities of the drivers and the makes and models of their vehicles could not be confirmed with the Island County Sheriff’s Office or Washington State Patrol.
The highway was shut down for about 30 minutes, Cotton said.
The pair of collisions Wednesday was a bit of an oddity, according to Chief Rusty Palmer.
“It’s unusual for us to get two in a day, but that’s just a matter of circumstance,” Palmer said.
