Four people were injured in a T-bone vehicle collision Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Bush Point and Mutiny Bay roads north of Freeland, one of the South End’s most dangerous intersections, officials said.
Five people in all were in the two vehicles; four were transported by ambulance to Whidbey General Hospital with undetermined injuries, said Jon Beck, Island County Fire District 3 deputy chief.
“There were no skid marks, no one hit the brakes — they didn’t see each other until they were right there,” Beck said Thursday.
The mishap occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Three persons were heading east on Mutiny Bay Road when their vehicle, a late-model Nissan small SUV, failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection known for its extremely limited visibility, Beck said.
He said the SUV crossed onto Bush Point Road and was struck broadside by a 2010 Toyota pickup traveling north. The collision caused the Nissan to overturn.
Det. Ed Wallace of the Island County Sheriff’s Office said the driver of the Nissan was a 26-year-old man from Arlington. His passengers were a 29-year-old man from Arlington and a 29-year-old woman from San Francisco, Calif., Wallace said.
In the pickup were a man, 63, and a woman, 62, both of Freeland, he said.
Beck said it was estimated that the pickup was traveling about 50 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
He said he was uncertain which of the five was not transported to the hospital.
Beck said the collision occurred at an intersection notorious for vehicle accidents in the past few years, including at least two fatalities.
“That’s a scary intersection because of the limited lines of sight,” he said. Beck said a traffic signal of some sort should perhaps be installed to warn approaching motorists of the danger.
“A blinking light would definitely help,” Beck said. “Something needs to be done.”
Meanwhile, he praised the safety restraint systems such as side airbags, and other technology built into late-model vehicles which limited the severity of the injuries in Sunday’s collision.
“It’s unbelievable how little injury there was,” Beck said. “If this happened
10 years ago, there would have been a different outcome.”
Wallace said the driver of the Nissan was cited for failure to stop and for driving with a suspended license.
