One arrested following wrong-way crash on Highway 101

A 22-year-old Olympia man was arrested early Saturday morning after his vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck near the Interstate 5 interchange on Highway 101, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Trooper Guy Gill said the suspect, driving a yellow Subaru Impreza, had been driving south in the northbound lanes of Highway 101 when he collided with a blue pickup truck. The driver of the truck and a passenger, a 59-year-old man and a 41-year-old man, sustained non-life-threatening facial injuries and were transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital.

The suspect sustained minor injuries and was also taken to Providence St. Peter. He was to be booked into Thurston County Jail on suspicion of vehicular assault after he was released from the hospital, Gill said.

Troopers responding to the scene believed that the suspect was impaired and performed a roadside breathalyzer test. It indicated that the suspect had a blood-alcohol content three times the legal limit for driving, Gill said. The State Patrol was awaiting results of a blood test.

“It’s completely reckless,” Gill said. “He could have killed himself or another innocent driver.”

Gill said troopers are unsure when the suspect entered the highway, driving the wrong way. The State Patrol is asking any witnesses to call the non-emergency line at 360-596-1998.

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 6:11 AM with the headline "One arrested following wrong-way crash on Highway 101."