Sequim man dies in head-on collision with dump truck; highway snarled

A Sequim man driving with his teenage son was killed in a head-on collision Wednesday afternoon on U.S. Highway 101 between Sequim and Port Angeles.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Mike DuFour said Stephen H. “Steve” Blenk, 48, died when his 1992 Chevrolet pickup truck collided head-on with a Mack dump truck just east of the McDonald Creek bridge at milepost 258.

Blenk’s son, 13-year-old Robert H. “Robbie” Blenk, the only passenger in the truck, was taken to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles for treatment of a broken wrist and multiple abrasions, according to a report from DuFour.

The driver of the Mack truck, 38-year-old Kevin B. Dewey of Sequim, suffered minor injuries. The truck belongs to Diamond Construction of Sequim.

The crash, which happened at 2:30 p.m., shut down the highway for about three hours.

Holiday traffic was snarled for at least a mile as motorists were rerouted onto Old Olympic Highway.

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