A Sedro-Woolley man was airlifted to Harborview after a motorcycle and SUV collided on North Cascades Highway near Hamilton in Skagit County. (Map: WSDOT)
HAMILTON, Wash. — A motorcyclist was riding west on SR 20 near Ohara Road Tuesday afternoon when he slowed down. The SUV behind him struck the motorcycle, leaving the rider badly hurt and shutting down one of Skagit County’s key highways for hours.
The rider, identified by Washington State Patrol as 76-year-old Larry D. Hildebrand of Sedro-Woolley, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the crash. It happened around 2:25 p.m. Aug. 18 near milepost 78.4. Troopers initially classified it as a serious-injury collision that blocked SR 20 in both directions.
WSDOT crews closed the roadway completely while troopers and fire personnel worked the scene, rerouting drivers as the investigation got underway.
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Motorcycle rider transported by air
According to the Washington State Patrol incident report, a 2001 Toyota 4Runner and a 2024 Moto Morini X-Cape motorcycle were traveling westbound on SR 20 as they approached Ohara Road.
The report states that the motorcycle slowed for an unknown reason. The SUV then struck the motorcycle.
Both vehicles came to rest in the eastbound lanes.
The motorcycle rider, identified as 76-year-old Larry D. Hildebrand of Sedro-Woolley, was injured and transported by air to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Hildebrand was wearing a U.S. Department of Transportation-compliant helmet, according to the report.
The driver of the 4Runner, identified as 44-year-old Melissa Dahlbeckmiller of Concrete, was not injured. The report states she was wearing a seat belt.
SR 20 reopened after investigation
The collision blocked both directions of SR 20/North Cascades Highway near Ohara Road and caused traffic delays in the area.
WSDOT initially directed drivers to use an alternate route at the Lyman-Hamilton Highway while the crash scene was investigated.
The agency later reported that all lanes had reopened.
The Washington State Patrol lists the cause of the collision as under investigation. The report does not indicate that drugs or alcohol were confirmed as factors.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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Please correct your story. My dad was the one hit by the SUV. He’s still in critical condition at Harborview.
Hey Dan, I just reversed the vehicles as I wrote the article, I sincerely apologize and the correction has been made and indicated at the top of the article.
Thank you Brian. Sadly your story was how we found out what happened. We had our assumptions it was the one in Hamilton due to the nature of the vehicle. So reading that he had hit her made zero sense to us. Then mins later another agency posts the opposite. We were finally able to call WSP Wednesday morning to find he was the one hit. I’ve been riding. With him 30 years. And he taught me and anyone else never follow close enough to not have an escape plan. Heck would have ridden into the ditch before hitting a car.
Heck he even hated it when I followed too close. Spent a lot of years chasing him on bikes. And I sincerely hope he comes back well enough so we can do that Neah Bay Ride we were planning. Won’t happen this year or maybe the next. We will get there.
So thank you for correcting it. I had so many calls for the last few days seeing dad’s name lit up confused as well.
He’s a tough old grizzly bear. This one’s going to take some time.
Sincerely thank you for the correction and statement.
Hello Daniel – I was one of the first people at the accident and have been wondering how your dad is doing. I’m grateful he survived.
Thank you Kim. He’s still with us but still currently unconscious. He’s pretty beat up. We are all praying for him. We have a long road ahead of us.
Thank you for helping him. It means a lot. Hopefully we can find why he slowed down, he’s been riding 60 years. We were planning on taking a ride before fall out to Neah Bay and stay the night