Two people are dead after a 76-year-old Oak Harbor man drove the wrong way on Highway 20 in Skagit County and struck another car head-on on the Swinomish Slough Bridge just after noon Wednesday, the Washington State Patrol reported.
Raymond S. Koladycz was traveling west in the eastbound lane of the highway in a 2015 Toyota Highlander. He struck an eastbound Toyota 4Runner driven by Jill L. Powell, 62, of Mount Vernon, the State Patrol report states.
Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. They were both wearing a seatbelt.
The collision blocked both eastbound lanes. A spokesperson for the State Patrol said one of the vehicles was hanging partially off the bridge.
The eastbound lanes were closed until 3:44 p.m. Traffic was detoured onto Reservation Road.
According to the spokesperson, investigators don’t know how long Koladycz had been driving the wrong way on the highway, but they suspect he got onto the highway at the exit nearest to the crash.
Investigators don’t know if Koladycz may have been impaired by drugs or alcohol but that a toxicology test might provide answers.