Highway 2 reopens after accident near Chattaroy

U.S. Highway 2 north of Elk-Chattaroy Road reopened at 1:45 p.m. today following a one-vehicle accident that injured a 76-year-old Colbert man. The rollover accident at Jim Hill Road blocked the southbound lanes for three hours, according to the Washington State Patrol. The driver, James Allen Wittman, was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center a short time after the 10:49 a.m. accident. Previous reports of his condition were incorrect. Southbound traffic was rerouted onto Chattaroy Road during an investigation by officers, troopers said. According to the troopers, Wittman was headed north on the highway when he stopped his 2005 Dodge Caravan in the roadway at Colbert Road. He then resumed travel northbound, but at a high rate of speed, losing control and going off the highway into the grassy median strip. The vehicle rolled several times before coming to rest in the southbound lanes, blocking traffic, troopers said. Wittman was wearing a seat belt. Alcohol or drugs are not believed to be involved.