PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

SHINE — One person was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and another transported to Jefferson General after a collision near the west entrance to the Hood Canal Bridge the evening of Dec. 29.

One of the vehicles involved, a 1990 Dodge minivan, was carrying 10 people, including eight children.

The crash, in which both the van and a car were totaled, snarled Highway 104 — which carries traffic over the floating bridge — for 2.5 hours, backing up traffic for miles in both Jefferson and Kitsap counties, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The State Patrol reported that the 22-year-old driver of a 1990 Subaru Legacy was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of injuries.

Troopers at the scene said the Subaru driven pulled onto Highway 104 from Paradise Bay Road as a westbound vehicle on the highway was coming off the bridge and turning right onto the road.

After the vehicle turned, the westbound minivan driven by a 40-year-old Port Ludlow man and the Subaru collided in the center of Highway 104, troopers reported.

A passenger in the Subaru was injured and taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend, the State Patrol said.

The driver of the minivan and nine passengers in the van ranging in age from 42 to 5 years were treated at the scene by paramedics. All were using seat restraints, as were the occupants of Subaru, troopers said.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the driver of the Subaru failed to yield the right of way to the minivan, the State Patrol reported, adding that no drugs or alcohol were involved.

A State Department of Transportation webcam stationed on the Hood Canal Bridge showed traffic backed up on the bridge onto the Kitsap County mainland from the time of the 4:30 p.m. collision until close to 7 p.m.