A two-car accident that caused life-threatening injuries to one of the drivers shut down Bellevue Way Southeast for about three hours Friday morning.

At approximately 7:45 a.m., Bellevue Police and Fire responded to multiple 911 calls of the collision on the 500 block of Bellevue Way. Rescue units responded and administered aid to an 86-year-old female driver who was trapped in her vehicle and later transported to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries.

The 45-year-old man driving the other vehicle was transported to Overlake Hospital Medical Center with minor injuries.

Initial information indicated that the injuries suffered by the female driver may have been life-threatening. Police closed Bellevue Way in both directions, from Main Street to 108th Avenue Southeast, for a complete investigation of the collision.

The initial investigation revealed the woman’s car, a brown 1995 Chrysler LeBaron, was turning northbound from a private driveway on the west side of Bellevue Way when it was struck by a Yellow taxi, a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria, traveling southbound on Bellevue Way.

The left front of the Chrysler suffered extensive damage and the force of the impact caused it to rotate 360 degrees. The taxi driver lost control of his vehicle after impact and traveled head on across all northbound lanes, running over a landscaped area near a parking lot of an apartment complex, and striking a parked vehicle.

No other citizens were injured. There were no obvious signs of alcohol or drug involvement at the scene.