Sultan woman recovering after U.S. 2 collision

The condition of the Sultan woman admitted at Harborview Medical Center on Jan. 8 after her car struck debris a logging truck dumped on U.S. Highway 2 has improved significantly.

Hannah Blanciet was transported in serious condition following the six-car crash. A hospital representative reported her health has been updated to satisfactory, meaning she has stabilized and a good outcome is expected.

The 19-year-old was one of four people injured in the collision. Blanciet was driving a black 1994 Toyota east, outside Snohomish just after 11 a.m. that morning. Lavonne Counley was coming from the opposite direction.

The 68-year-old Snohomish woman’s black 2005 Lincoln Aviator drifted across the center line. A 4-year-old was in the passenger seat, but was uninjured.

The red construction truck hauling two trailers of timber swerved to avoid the SUV. The truck driver, a 61-year-old Buckley man, had been heading west but moved into the eastbound lane. That is when piles of the massive logs were released and scattered over the roadway.

A 70-year-old Mukilteo man’s blue 2005 Lexus GX470 four door, a 44-year-old Buckley man’s white 2014 Chevrolet Silverado truck and a 36-year-old Marysville man’s white 2010 Ford Econoline van all crashed into the truck.

Blanciet hit the wreckage. Her car was totaled, and she was airlifted to the Harborview. A Washington State Department of Transportation photo shows significant damage to the front and passenger side of the car, which stopped on the shoulder beside the logging truck that had ended up partially inverted in a ditch.

Counley was also injured and taken to Providence Hospital in Everett, as was the driver and 52-year-old passenger in the Econoline. Her SUV and their van could not be salvaged.

Both lanes were shut down and traffic detoured while crews cleaned up the scene and responders treated the injured.

According to a Washington State Patrol memo it was unclear if drugs or alcohol were involved. Everyone had been wearing their seat belts at the time. Charges are pending.

The accident was one of three that left passengers hospitalized in the area that same week. A 43-year-woman driving a red 2017 Hyundai Elantra on State Route 203 two days later was struck from behind as she slowed to make a turn on State Route 203. The impact from a Sultan man’s blue 2000 Chrysler Voyager pushed Emily Heinl’s vehicle into oncoming traffic on Jan. 10.

A 64-year-old Duvall man driving a 2016 Ford Edge south at the time collided with Heinl. He was taken to EvergreenHealth and Heinl to Providence in Everett.

It occurred on a slightly curved stretch of highway — also called the Monroe Duvall Road — that points north to south. If a driver turns left, they will head down 203rd Street. If they take a right, a sharp turn guides them up a steep switchback. Residents know it as the notorious High Rock Road intersection.

Two days after that, a 66-year-old Sultan woman was taken to Providence Medical Center in Everett after her car was struck from behind. Rosemary Wenzl was slowing down for traffic on U.S. Highway 2 just after 5 p.m. Friday.

A Gold Bar man following her hit the back end of her 1995 Toyota Camry, according to WSP. The 31-year-old was not injured, but a man and woman from Sedro-Woolley in a 2001 Chrysler Town and Country were not as fortunate.

Their minivan struck Wenzl’s passenger-side door. The impact from the Gold Bar man’s car had pushed hers into oncoming traffic. All three cars were totaled.

Drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the High Rock Road or highway collisions, according to WSP.