A Langley man who apparently failed to follow storm-related traffic rules caused a collision in Coupeville that left two young children seriously injured, according to the State Patrol.
The children were transported to Harborview Medical Center after sustaining injuries in a car accident early Wednesday morning on Highway 20.
At approximately 6:40 a.m. Oak Harbor resident Patrick Watts was driving a 1986 Chevrolet Nova north on South Main Street in Coupeville. His children, Willow, 5, Stone, 3, and River, 3, were in the car with him.
Watts stopped at the intersection with Highway 20, according to the State Patrol report. The signals at the intersection weren’t working due to a power outage that hit earlier that stormy morning.
When Watts entered the intersection, he was struck by Langley resident Steven George, 46, who was driving a 1998 Buick. Both cars ended up on the northwest corner of the intersection near the entry to a walking bridge over the highway. Traffic was detoured around the scene on back roads for several hours.
George and River Watts were transported to Whidbey General Hospital where they were treated and released. Patrick, Stone and Willow Watts were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Stone remains in serious condition in intensive care, Willow is in satisfactory condition while Patrick was treated and released.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Dave Martin said that George failed to treat the darkened intersection as a four-way stop when he plowed into Watts’ Nova.
He said charges against George are pending the completion of the investigation.
The accident came during a storm that started early Wednesday morning and peppered Whidbey Island with rain and wind gusts that reached 62 miles per hour. That storm caused power outages for all of Whidbey Island and canceled school in the Coupeville School District while leaving Oak Harbor students in school, but without lights.
Local law enforcement was inundated with calls throughout the day.
Jan Smith, spokesperson for the Island County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies responded to more than 170 calls Wednesday, which is double the calls they normally respond to on the busiest summer day.
She said deputies were responding to minor traffic accidents and traffic hazards throughout the day. Then, after dark, they responded to more welfare checks because family members wanted to know how elderly relatives were fairing through the severe weather.
