Emergency personnel and volunteer helpers watch as the injured motorist is loaded into an ambulance at the scene of a four-car collision Aug. 15. Sophie Bonomi / Herald
By TERRYL ASLA
and SOPHIE BONOMI
North Kitsap Herald
Editor’s note: This version corrects the location of the collision.
POULSBO — At 4:10 p.m., Aug. 15, one driver was seriously injured and the occupants of three other cars were shaken up when an older Toyota Camry slammed into the back of three cars stopped at the traffic light on Highway 305 at Lincoln Road.
Units from the Poulsbo Fire Department, Poulsbo Police Department and the Kitsap County Sheriff responded to the collision, which tied up traffic in both directions.
George, who lives on Bainbridge Island, was on his way to get a haircut. The couple in the car in front of him that his was catapulted into was also driven by two Bainbridge residents, Xavier Valdez and Jade Escamilla. They were on their way into Poulsbo to have dinner. The car at the front of the crash suffered minimal damage and its occupants did not leave the car to be interviewed.
On the sidewalk after the collision, Larry Barich watched his wife, Konni Barich, a nurse, respond to the scene before the paramedics arrived.
“She got there right when the Poulsbo police did,” Larry said.
Konni, who directs a foreign language program, has a nursing license and volunteers for the Red Cross.
“Sometimes I’m out volunteering with them,” she said of the rescue team.
“I heard, ‘Is there a doctor or a nurse available,’ and I just ran over,” she said.
“The first responders must have been quick,” Larry said. “I’m really proud of her … she’s saved a couple of lives.”
Konni said of the injured man’s condition: “It’s hard to say. He has a possible broken leg and it’s hard to tell what kind of internal bleeding he has … There was a head wound; we put pressure there.”
“The first thing I look at is if they’re conscious, if they have a pulse, and if they’re breathing,” she said. “Keep talking to them, and make sure they’re with ya.”
A bystander appears to show emotion while assisting at the scene of a four-car collision Aug. 15 on Highway 305 near Lincoln Road. Terryl Asla / Herald
Emergency personnel assist an injured motorist at the scene of a four-car collision Aug. 15 on Highway 305 near Lincoln Road. Terryl Asla / Herald
Emergency personnel and volunteer helpers watch as the injured motorist is loaded into an ambulance at the scene of a four-car collision Aug. 15. Sophie Bonomi / Herald
The injured motorist’s windshield, at the scene of a four-car collision Aug. 15 on Highway 305 near Lincoln Road. Terryl Asla / Herald
Xavier Valdez and Jade Escamilla were on their way into Poulsbo to have dinner when the collision occurred. Terryl Asla / Herald
An emergency responder looks over the scene of the collision on Aug. 15. Sophie Bonomi / Herald
