Accident closes Zylstra Road for more than an hour

A section of Zylstra Road was closed for more than an hour yesterday morning after a southbound driver lost control of his van and sheared off a telephone support pole.

The investigating police officer, Washington State Patrol Trooper Larry Provoncha, declined to immediately provide any information concerning the accident so the driver of the vehicle could not be identified by press time. However, other police officers and emergency responders on scene confirmed that a broken seat may have been responsible for the July 6 accident.

The man had just pulled onto Zylstra from Highway 20 and was driving northbound when he struck a wooden pole being used to support a larger telephone pole on the other side of the road with wires. He reportedly told investigators that his seat broke and that’s what caused him to lose control of his vehicle.

The vehicle struck with enough force to completely shear off the support pole. It remained upright, however, due to the wires securing it to the telephone pole. A utility truck had to be called in to move the damaged pole out of the roadway.

Also responding to the call were paramedics, deputies from the Island County Sheriff’s Office and the Coupeville Marshal’s Office, and North Whidbey Fire and Rescue emergency responders.

According to fire district officials on both Central and North Whidbey, the Fourth of July weekend was relatively quiet. Neither responded to any structure or residential fires.

North Whidbey Battalion Chief and Training Officer Joe Biller said they put out four brush fires and investigated one smoke complaint, while Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue Chief Ed Hartin said his department responded to no firework-related incidents.

"All things considered, it was fairly quiet," Hartin said.

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Contact Whidbey News Times Staff reporter Justin Burnett at jburnett@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5054.

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