A Port Hadlock man and a Nordland woman were airlifted to a Seattle hospital after they fell asleep and crashed their cars in separate wrecks in East Jefferson County on Wednesday afternoon, the State Patrol reported.
Both Gerald E. Johnston, 75, of Port Hadlock, and Alyce E. Bollinger, 82, of Nordland, were undergoing assessment at Harborview Medical Center’s emergency room late Wednesday afternoon and their conditions had not yet been determined, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Both drivers were traveling alone. No other vehicles were involved.
Both have been cited for second-degree negligent driving, the State Patrol said.
Johnston’s 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, which was traveling southbound, drifted off state Highway 19 at Margaret Road south of Port Townsend at 12:05 p.m., struck two telephone poles and rolled, coming to rest on its top in the southbound lane, the State Patrol said.
East Jefferson Fire-Rescue firefighters extricated him from the car after he was trapped for about 20 minutes, said Bill Beezley, spokesman for the department.
The man was returning home after having blood work done at a local medical office and told firefighters that he may have lost consciousness due to a loss of blood, according to Beezley.
The State Patrol said Johnston feel asleep.
Beezley, who did not identify the man as per department policy, said that traffic on Highway 19, which also is known as Rhody Drive, was blocked for about 45 minutes.
Bollinger was traveling eastbound on state Highway 116 about 12 miles southeast of Port Townsend at 1:22 p.m. when she fell asleep and drove off the road, the State Patrol said.
Her 1992 Lincoln Towncar left the roadway to the right and came to rest in the eastbound ditch, Troopers reported.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts. Neither drugs nor alcohol were involved in the wrecks, the State Patrol said.