A head-on accident north of Oak Harbor took the life of a South Whidbey man Tuesday morning.

Roger D. Carr, 36, of Freeland, was pronouced dead at the scene.

According to the Washington State Patrol, at approximately 9:13 a.m. Carr was driving his 1984 Jeep Cherokee southbound on Highway 20 near Jones Road when he crossed the centerline and struck a northbound 2001 Chevy Silverado driven by 66-year-old James B. Bowers of Oak Harbor. Carr was not wearing his seat belt when the accident occurred. Bowers, who was wearing a seatbelt, was transported to Whidbey General Hospital with a broken arm, leg and hand.

The accident stacked up traffic in both directions on Highway 20 as State Patrol troopers closed the road for several hours to conduct an investigation of the accident. Fire and aid vehicles, along with State Patrol and Island County Sheriff’s cars, lined the highway for several hundred yards.

It was the second incident on Highway 20 at Jones Road that day. Less than an hour earlier, at approximately 8:30 a.m., a two-car accident sent another Oak Harbor resident to Whidbey General Hospital.

Susan M. Dionne, 48, was stopped on Highway 20 near the intersection of Jones Road when her Mercury Sable was struck from behind by a Volkswagen Golf driven by 17-year-old Samantha Buckingham of Oak Harbor. According to the State Patrol, Buckingham had taken her eyes off the road for a moment. When she looked back again, she saw Dionne’s car in stopped ahead of her and didn’t have time to stop.

Dionne was transported to Whidbey General with neck and back pain.

Buckingham was taken by family to the Naval Hospital. She will also receive a citation for “speed too fast to avoid a collision,” a $135 ticket.