Driver in Agate Pass Bridge crash faces long road to recovery

One of the drivers in the two-car crash at the Agate Pass Bridge earlier this month has undergone multiple surgeries since the crash but still faces a long road to recovery, according to her husband.

One of the drivers in the two-car crash at the Agate Pass Bridge earlier this month has undergone multiple surgeries since the crash but still faces a long road to recovery, according to her husband.

Barbara MacLearnsberry and Michael Parker were driving in opposite directions on Highway 305 just south of the bridge March 4 when MacLearnsberry’s Kia Sedona minivan crossed the centerline and struck a Lexus sedan driven by Parker.

Both drivers were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the accident.

While Parker, 54, remains at Harborview, MacLearnsberry, 77, was released earlier this month.

MacLearnsberry, however, suffered numerous injuries in the crash and her treatment is still ongoing, her husband Chuck MacLearnsberry said in an email to the Review.

He said his wife received serious, life-threatening injuries in the accident, including “a broken wrist, broken sternum, compound multiple fractures of the left ankle and foot, a lacerated liver, a bruise on her heart and several other severe, external lacerations.”

She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital undergoing two surgeries on her foot and ankle; one operation was four hours in length and the second one was six hours long.

Chuck MacLearnsberry also said the surgery on her right wrist included the insertion of a metal plate.

“She is in rehabilitation in Poulsbo, spending most of her days on her back, unable to move much of her body and will most likely remain there for, at least, the next month, until she can come home,” he said.

Bainbridge police continue to investigate the accident.

MacLearnsberry noted that he was told there was only one witness to the accident, and that the vehicles did not strike each other directly head-on.

“Fortunately, Barbara was able to move slightly to the right at the last second and the vehicles hit on their right front ends, causing them both to spin,” MacLearnsberry said in an email.

“While Barbara’s car did cross into the opposite lane, it is not clear why, or what happened immediately leading up to the accident, as she was not under medication, does not take drugs, was not under the influence of alcohol and has never sustained more than a ‘fender-bender’ in over 55 years of driving,” he said.