Clallam County Fire District 3 reports one person was airlifted Friday to Harborview Medical Center following a collision between a sport utility vehicle and semi-truck in front of 7 Cedars Casino.

Battalion Chief Chris Turner said medics first responded to a report of a wreck at 2:25 p.m. Oct. 4 on the 27000 block of U.S. Highway 101 where a semi-truck and SUV collided.

Two Blyn paramedics were first on scene and requested Life Flight and additional support, Turner said.

Sgt. Alan Dixon with Washington State Patrol reports that a Toyota Highlander was attempting to turn left across traffic from 7 Cedars to go westbound on the highway, and failed to yield to the semi-truck going eastbound.

He said the semi-truck struck the Highlander’s driver’s side, and both the driver and passenger were seriously injured.

The SUV’s passenger was flown to Harborview Medical Center from the Jamestown Justice Center on Sophus Road, and the driver was transported to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles.

Dixon reports the driver was later arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence.

The semi-truck driver was not injured, State Patrol reports.

Names of those involved in the wreck were not immediately available.

The highway was completely blocked while medics extricated the driver and passenger from the SUV, Turner said.

Vehicles were diverted through the casino’s parking lot from Corriea Road to Sophus Road and back to the highway by the Longhouse Market and Deli to go around the scene.

Turner said traffic was allowed to pass through the scene around 5 p.m., and the Department of Transportation reports the highway was cleared at 6:08 p.m.

Clallam County Fire District 3 career firefighters from Sequim and Blyn, volunteer firefighters from Diamond Point, and Olympic Ambulance responded to the incident.

Limited visibility in the curve of the highway required that traffic control to be a coordinated effort between the agencies, Turner said.

Photo courtesy Chris Turner, Clallam County Fire District 3/ A semi-truck driver is uninjured after an SUV allegedly failed to yield while turning west onto U.S. Highway 101 from 7 Cedars Casino on Oct. 4. The SUV’s passenger was flown to Harborview Medical Center, and the driver was taken to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles and later arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence, reports Washington State Patrol.