Belmont , WA : Driver arrested in two-car crash that closes Blewett Pass on Monday September 5 2016

A 42-year-old Seattle man was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault Monday following a two-car crash that injured three people and shut down Highway 97 in both directions near Blewett Pass for more than three hours.

State Patrol Trooper Brian Moore said witnesses reported the man had been driving erratically when he crashed head-on with an approaching car and injured its two occupants and himself.

The accident was reported around 9:40 a.m. at milepost 166 about 2 miles north of the summit, said Moore. The broad scope of the crash scene required closure of the highway in both directions, he said. The highway reopened around 1:40 p.m.

Names of those involved in the crash were not been released Monday.

According to Moore, the suspect's 2008 Toyota Scion was traveling northbound on Highway 97 when it crossed the centerline and crashed head-on with the victims' southbound 2014 Mazda sedan.

The suspect was injured in the crash and taken by ambulance to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, where he was treated and released. He was in custody Monday at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center.

The driver of the Mazda, a 28-year-old Seattle woman, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was in critical condition. The passenger in the car, a 29-year-old Seattle woman, was taken by ambulance to Central Washington hospital, where she was in serious condition.

Moore said the Seattle man appeared to impaired by drugs and was given a blood test. The trooper declined to give results of that test or name the drugs involved while an investigation is pending.

Source :

Mazda Motor : Driver arrested in two-car crash that closes Blewett Pass