Three multiple-car crashes that happened within minutes of each other on Highway 305 left traffic jammed on Bainbridge Island Sunday afternoon.
The collisions — one at the Sportsman Club Road intersection and the other two just south of Koura Road — left the southbound lane of the highway blocked for more than an hour.
The first crash occurred just after 11:20 a.m. Sunday and involved three vehicles at the Highway 305/Sportsman Club Road intersection.
Five vehicles going south on 305 were stopped at the light when a 2002 Subaru Impreza driven by a 21-year-old Port Angeles man rear-ended a 43-year-old Bainbridge Island man in a 2016 Toyota 4Runner. The man’s Toyota was then pushed in a 2017 Toyota Forester driven by a 27-year-old Seattle woman.
The Port Angeles man said he saw traffic had backed up at the light but was unable to stop in time.
No one appeared seriously injured in that crash, and the backup of traffic was a factor in two following collisions that happened moments later, also in the southbound lane of 305, roughly a mile north on the highway.
The two collisions — both involving three vehicles — were reported at 12:15 p.m. The crashes were just hundreds of yards apart and left the southbound lane of 305 blocked by damaged cars and responding units from the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, including multiple fire engines and medic units.
The more serious crash involved a 17-year-old Bainbridge man who was going south in a 2002 Toyota 4Runner. The teen collided with the back end of a 2004 Hyundai Sonata driven by a 65-year-old Bainbridge man just south of Koura Road.
The Sonata then rear-ended a 35-year-old Bremerton woman in a 2016 Toyota 4Runner.
The Bainbridge teenager said he had reached over to change the radio station, only to look up and see that traffic had stopped.
He told police he tried to brake hard, but slid into the vehicle in front of him, according to a police report.
The teen was cited for inattentive driving.
One person involved in the crash was taken home by ambulance, but no serious injuries were reported, Bainbridge police said.
