Alcohol and high speed were likely factors in a fearsome one-car wreck that left an island youth with a leg injury early Tuesday, Bainbridge Police say.
Parents of the driver, a 16-year-old boy, called 911 after he contacted them by cell-phone from the crash scene on Blakely Avenue south of Tani Creek.
Officers arrived to find the youth clear of the wreck and laying in the back of his parents’ car.
His vehicle, a 1996 Saab 900, lay in a mangled heap at the bottom of a 15-foot embankment nearby.
“I don’t think there was a straight piece of metal on it,” one police officer said.
The youth was transported by ambulance to Harrison Hospital for treatment of a leg injury.
Although the vehicle was totaled, the inside compartment withstood the force of impact and protected the driver. Also, the vehicle’s airbags deployed, police said.
The accident was reported at 1:13 a.m., although it is believed to have occurred about 45 minutes earlier. Police attributed the difference to the time it took the driver to recover and call his parents.
Police say the youth was traveling southbound at high speed when he lost control and went into a prolonged skid, with the vehicle spinning across the roadway.
The car sailed off the embankment at the edge of the IslandWood school property, flattening two sizeable trees before coming to rest upside down.
Investigating officers returned to the scene at daybreak, measuring 493 feet of swirling skidmarks leading to the point where the vehicle left the roadway.
– Douglas Crist
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***Incidents make a freaky Friday
Egos were bruised, but no other injuries were reported in a pair of bizarre incidents in Winslow Friday afternoon.
The first occurred around 3:30 p.m., when a vehicle jumped the curb and sidewalk next to the Pavilion on Madison Avenue, and was left teetering over a 3-foot drop into the parking area below.
The accident startled passersby and diners inside the Chinese restaurant a few yards away, who witnessed it through the window.
No one was on the sidewalk when the vehicle careened across.
The driver mistook the covered walk for the driveway entrance 50 feet to the north, according to police reports.
The 2003 Ford Mustang, a rental vehicle registered to the Hertz agency, sustained minimal damage to its undercarriage but had to be lifted back to street level by a tow truck.
The 33-year-old, Quilcene-area driver was cited for a suspended license. Neither he nor a woman passenger were injured.
An hour later, aid units were summoned to Waterfront Park, where a high school boy was said to have his head stuck in a cutout in a plywood mural.
The large vertical panel, mounted across the park lawn from the stage, features a mural of pioneer figures. Youths can put their faces up to the holes to appear part of the mural to viewers on the other side.
Park-goers called for help Friday when a youth put his entire head through one of the openings and was unable to free himself.
Firefighters used pliers to chip away part of the wooden panel to enlarge the hole. A small crowd of onlookers applauded as the boy was detached unhurt.
– Douglas Crist
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***Rally for Cure is Thursday
Bainbridge Island’s second-ever Rally for the Cure runs throughout the day July 31 at Wing Point Golf and Country Club.
Sponsors hope to raise $55,000 through the event; proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
The day includes women’s golf and tennis tournaments, a mixed bridge party and a gourmet dinner, with registration ranging from $70-$125 depending on the event.
The public is invited to a $30 cocktail party and silent auction that runs from 5-7 p.m., with auction items including a garden party luncheon for six; three nights in a cottage on the Oregon coast; tickets to sporting events; and handmade quilts and fine wines.
Also, several tables are still open for the 7 p.m. dinner. A live auction will include such fare as vacation packages to the Florida Keys and Lake Chelan; golf for eight at the historic Country Club of Seattle at Restoration Point; and a gourmet dinner in the IslandWood treehouse classroom, among other prizes. Information: info@wingpointgolf.com.
