A two-car wreck shut down multiple lanes of travel Friday afternoon.

An elderly woman, whose name was not immediately available, had to be transported to Whidbey General Hospital after complaining of chest pains.

Oak Harbor Police Officer Dennis Dickinson said the injuries were probably the result of the force of the seat belt.

Oak Harbor resident Dane Dawkins was making a left turn from Barrington onto Highway 20 when he collided with the woman’s Chevrolet Caprice wagon. Dickinson cited him for failing to yield, which caused the accident.

“If I didn’t have a witness, it would have been a toss up,” Dickinson said.

People were behind the woman, who was heading west on Barrington, said that they had a green light, which would mean left turns would have to yield.

Dawkins’ story was different. At the scene, he told officers that he had a green arrow and did not see the woman because he was looking left while making the turn.

“He just failed to yield to her,” Dickinson said.

Dawkins said he was not injured in the accident. He had airbags in his car, a black Plymouth Neon, that deployed.

Dawkins said that he was returning home from Wal-Mart after developing film.

“I’m shaken up,” he said, “but that’s about it.”

He said he did not have time to avoid the accident. After he knew he was OK, he said he tried to make sure the woman was alright.

“I saw that she was an old lady,” he said. “I got out to check and see if she was alright.”

The accident comes as Dawkins is about to leave Oak Harbor. Stationed here in the Navy, he said he is to leave in approximately one month and had already cancelled his insurance.

“The thing now is paying for this,” he said while staring at his crumpled car. “The first thing was making sure she was OK.”

You can reach News-Times reporter Eric Berto at eberto@whidbeynewstimes.com