Olympia man airlifted to hospital after Thanksgiving morning crash
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Olympia man crashed after swerving for a deer; airlifted to Tacoma.
- Responders extracted driver after 45 minutes; injuries serious but not life-threatening.
- Apple crash alert and bystander aid helped troopers locate and stabilize him.
A 27-year-old Olympia man was airlifted to Tacoma General Hospital early Thanksgiving morning after swerving the vehicle he was driving to avoid a deer and hitting some trees.
He may have been driving fast to work at the correctional facility in Shelton around 5:30 a.m. when he tried to avoid hitting a deer that was running along state Route 101, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Kameron Watts.
Troopers on scene said the crash resulted in one of the most damaged cars they’d ever seen that didn’t result in death, Watts said. It took direct responders 45 minutes to extract the driver from the vehicle.
His injuries are serious but not life-threatening, Watts said.
The 27-year-old was wearing his seatbelt and no drugs or alcohol were involved, according to the State Patrol. A bystander who had extensive trauma experience helped first responders stop some of the bleeding, Watts said. The driver was transported to the Tumwater airport and then airlifted to Tacoma General.
Apple’s automatic crash notification system made a call to the state patrol’s dispatch center after the crash, and the driver could be heard yelling, “Help!” in the background, Watts said.
“The automatic crash notification also assists dispatch with pinpointing the approximate location of the collision without the driver having to say anything about the location. So troopers went off of that information to finally locate him off of the roadway,” Watts said. “We did contact his employer in this process. The scene was cleared after he got airlifted ... and a tow got on scene to remove [the car] from the trees.”
