PORT ANGELES — A 63-year-old woman is expected to undergo surgery for a broken leg suffered when a State Patrol trooper’s patrol car hit her in a crosswalk Wednesday.
State Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Krista Hedstrom said Thursday that Wilma E. Marshall of Port Angeles is likely to remain in Olympic Medical Center for about a week.
Marshall was hit by a State Patrol car driven by Trooper Ken Ahrens, who was on duty, at about 10 a.m. while she was in a crosswalk, walking across Peabody Street at First Street in Port Angeles, the State Patrol said.
On Wednesday, Hedstrom was told Marshall appeared to be uninjured and was taken to OMC as a precaution, she said.
“It initially appeared that Marshall had swelling to her left leg; however, after further testing it was determined that Marshall had sustained a broken leg,” Hedstrom said in a prepared statement Thursday.
Right turn
Ahrens, a trooper for 24 years, had stopped at a red light, and was slowly moving forward to turn right onto First Street from Peabody Street when his unmarked 2008 Chevrolet Impala bumped into Marshall, and she fell down, Hedstrom said.
“When he stopped [at the red light], she wasn’t in the crosswalk,” Hedstrom said. “When he looked to his left, she stepped into the crosswalk from his right.”
“The Washington State Patrol takes these incidents seriously, and we are most concerned with Mrs. Marshall’s well being,” said State Patrol District 8 Capt. Steve Sutton in the statement.
The injury is the second time a person was hurt by a State Patrol car in the North Olympic Peninsula in the last month.
On Aug. 15, Trooper Casey Corey was attempting to pass a car on U.S. Highway 101 while answering an emergency call when his patrol car hit a 1994 Ford Escort while the driver was making a left turn onto Holland Drive. Both cars were traveling north about 12 miles east of Sequim.
The driver of the Escort, Clarissa Granger, 29, of Port Townsend was treated for minor injuries and discharged from Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton that day.
Investigations into both collisions continued Thursday, Hedstrom said.
The investigations could result either in disciplinary action or retraining for the troopers, she added.
She did not know when the investigations would be completed.
Both troopers continue to work on patrol.