Washington State Patrol investigators are trying to figure out what caused a car to plow into an oncoming car Friday, Aug. 4, killing a Woodinville man.
A trooper interviewed the driver of the car at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was being treated for several broken bones, trooper Keith Leary said.
“The trooper tried to ask some questions, but because of (the woman’s) severe leg injures and other broken bones, we were unable to get more information,” Leary said.
The accident closed down the Bothell-Everett Highway south of Mill Creek for about two hours.
The woman’s car was southbound in the 18300 block of Highway 527 about 10:30 a.m. when the vehicle reportedly crossed into the middle turn lane and slammed into a Buick LeSabre.
The driver of the Buick, Donald L. Totten Jr., 57, died while paramedics attempted to revive him inside an ambulance, Leary said.
The woman, 32, whose driver’s license showed a Pensacola, Fla., address, was rushed to Harborview.
Detectives are investigating the crash as a potential vehicular homicide, Leary said. A witness reported seeing the woman driving on a sidewalk just before the accident, he said.
A blood sample was taken from the woman to determine if she was under the influence of any intoxicants, including prescription medications, Leary said.
Troopers also are investigating a witness report that the woman was on her cell phone at the time of the crash, Leary said.
The Aug. 4 accident was the second fatality on area roadways in less than a month. On July 18, a 63-year-old woman died of injuries sustained in a head-on collision on 132nd Street SE.
Diana Hefley is a reporter for The Herald in Everett. MIll Creek Enterprise editor John Santana contributed to this report.
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