Highway 20 closed for

two hours

The State Patrol hasn’t been able to positively identify a young man who sustained life-threatening injuries in a Highway 20 accident just before noon Tuesday.

Trooper Tim Yzaguirre said the man was driving a 1990 Honda Civic southbound on the highway north of Oak Harbor, near the intersection with Hoffman Road. He crossed the double-yellow centerline and struck an oncoming 2007 Chrysler Sebring nearly head-on.

The man sustained serious injuries. He was immediately airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. The trooper said he appeared to have head injuries.

Yzaguirre said the driver of the Chrysler, 61-year-old Clara Mortenson of Oak Harbor, sustained minor injuries and was transported to Whidbey General Hospital. Her passenger, a 4-year-old boy, was also taken in an ambulance, but he was treated and released.

Glass, metal and other debris — including several books about the Mormons — covered a large stretch of the highway. Officers closed down the road for about two hours and detoured traffic onto Hoffman Road.

A State Patrol collision technician traveled from Mount Vernon to measure, map and analyze the scene of the accident.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at 675-6611.