One person airlifted with critical injuries after crash into highway guardrail in Stevens County

One person was airlifted to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with critical injuries Thursday after their car crashed into a guardrail on state Highway 292 in Stevens County.

Investigators suspect a medical event caused the driver to crash directly into the guardrail two miles west of Loon Lake just before noon, according to Stevens County Fire District 1 and Washington State Patrol. The crash and airlift response shut down the highway until it partially reopened around 1:15 p.m.

Several feet of the guardrail became entangled inside the car and trapped the lone occupant, according to Stevens County Fire District 1. Crews worked for about 50 minutes to free the person.

The airlift response was delayed at one point because a vehicle went around the roadblock into the path of the helicopter landing zone, the Stevens County Fire District 1 said.

Medical personnel administered care to the patient before they were transported to Sacred Heart with critical but non-life-threatening injuries.