Man Dead After Crashing into Boulder off of U.S 97 North of Orondo

A Methow man is dead from a crash on US 97 north of Orondo near Sandy Shores Thursday at around 8 am.

Washington State Patrol says the 75-year-old driver of a station wagon was traveling northbound when he left the roadway to the east and hit a boulder.

Trooper Jeremy Weber says the car wasn't traveling excessively fast, but still hit the rock hard.

"The boulder was actually moved a few inches," said Weber. "And when the tow truck pulled the vehicle away from the boulder, it actually pushed the engine compartment in toward the driver, so it was pretty high impact.

A witness traveling behind at the posted speed witnessed the crash. No criminal investigation is being done.

Weber says it appears the man either fell asleep at the wheel or had a medical issue when he drove off the road.

The crashed car was a 2001 Volvo station wagon.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office assisted with the incident.

U.S. 97 was closed down in the area for about 10 minutes while an ambulance was called in to take care of the victim.