QUILCENE — A volunteer firefighter seriously injured in a head-on crash that killed a local teen-ager Tuesday is apparently improving at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Robert W. Moser, 66, remains in intensive care at the medical center, hospital officials said Thursday. He suffered chest injuries and a broken leg and ankle.
Moser’s friend Andy Mackie of Quilcene said Thursday that the firefighter is recovering from surgery Tuesday to repair a torn aorta.
Mackie’s daughter, Laurie Wolford, is setting up a fund at U.S. Bank in Quilcene to help with Moser’s medical expenses and traveling expenses for his family.
Fire District No. 2 Chief Bob Wilson, Moser’s friend and colleague in the Quilcene fire district, confirmed Moser’s improving condition.
“He got off his ventilator today,” Wilson said “We’re really excited about that.”
A second survivor of the head-on crash, 9-year-old Austin Kench, was hospitalized overnight Tuesday at Jefferson General Hospital in Port Townsend.
The young girl was released Wednesday after being treated for a broken leg.
But her 16-year-old brother Scott Kench of Quilcene died at Harborview from the injuries he sustained in the crash on Center Road just north of Quilcene.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating the crash.
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