COUPEVILLE — A loud explosion in the dark touched off an intense but fruitless search Sunday on south Whidbey Island after officials feared a plane may have crashed into a heavily timbered area.
People living near Oliver Lake reported hearing sounds of a low-flying aircraft and an explosion just before midnight Sunday, Island County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Smith said.
The area was checked almost immediately by helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard and Airlift Northwest, but no sign of a crash was spotted. Aviation officials also reported no missing or delayed aircraft, Smith said.
Search and rescue volunteers from Island, Snohomish and Skagit counties converged to search a roughly two-square mile area. No signs of a crash were found.
The search area included nearly 300 acres of "densely wooded, nearly impenetrable ground," Smith said.
SUV takes flight, crashes: A young Snohomish County woman and her 9-month-old daughter were injured Sunday when the sport-utility vehicle the woman was driving shot off the road, went airborne and came to rest upside down in a small creek, officials said.
The incident occurred about 6:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of 108th St. NE.
The vehicle was westbound on 108th Street NE, also known as Lauck Road, when the 18-year-old driver topped a small rise and swerved to avoid crashing into the back of another vehicle moving more slowly ahead of her, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said.
The vehicle went airborne and struck a tree nine feet above the ground before crashing back to earth. "This accident was caused by excessive speed," Jorgensen said.
The vehicle was in the shallow creek but not submerged when fire crews arrived. Both of its occupants were trapped, said Chief Travis Hots of Snohomish County Fire District 22.
The infant was in a child-restraint seat in the back of the vehicle. The child was taken by helicopter to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, Jorgensen said.
The woman was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center where she was being treated and was expected to be released Sunday evening, Jorgensen said.
The wreck is under investigation by the sheriff’s office.
From Herald staff reports
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