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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, November 15, 2009 One-car wreck in Lynnwood kills two, injures two others By Katya Yefimova Herald Writer LYNNWOOD — Two young men were killed and two others were clinging to life early Saturday after their car smashed into a tree. Medics were called shortly after 2 a.m. to the intersection of 176th Street SW and North Road, less than a mile north of Lynnwood High School, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said. The four men, ages 20 to 22, are from the Lynnwood area, Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. Stephen Dittoe said. Two men were dead at the scene. No other information about them was available. Two other men were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Their conditions were listed as serious and critical later on Saturday morning, Dittoe said. Damage to the vehicle was massive. It took firefighters 15 minutes to cut one injured man free of the wrecked car, Hynes said. Detectives from the sheriff’s Collision Investigation Unit were investigating the crash, Dittoe said. They determined that the car was northbound when it failed to negotiate a turn and left the road at 70 to 80 mph. The speed limit in the area is 35 mph, Dittoe said. The turn is posted at 25 mph. Dittoe said alcohol also may have been a factor in the crash. Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out Waste of life This is certainly a tragedy by all counts. So why is it that ANYONE would want to disregard the fact that speeding, which is a choice, injured and killed these kids? If it was a drunk in another car, we would all be outraged. Feeling a sense of personal responsibility is always a good thing. How can anyone hope to learn from a mistake that is never acknowledged? This could have happened to anyone who was excessively speeding down this road. Sometimes it is better to get there late than never. Moon Dance | Nov 18, 2009 4:59 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Heart break for another family As someone who has lost young, loved ones in accidents, I know the heart ache the families of those killed in the car accident on the North Road will face. PLEASE help to pass the word that speeding kills! For a few minutes of thrills, young men gamble that they will be around to do it again. How many times do they have to read or hear about deaths on the roads before they might remember to slow down. The pain never goes away, it just fades after maybe 20 years or so. I am so sorry for the families, my prayers are with you in the long stuggle to make some sense of such a waste. Janice Corbett | Nov 16, 2009 3:36 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) There is no need to turn off the comments. None have been disrepectful or rude. They are simply stating the obvious, speed kills. Nothing disrespectful about that. And the people posting do have compassion. Some people should also have common sense, and not take a 25 mph corner at anything above that speed. People, not just the young, need to slow down and pay attention. How many text while driving? How many disregard the law and talk on their cell phone? Lets all be better drivers. JOANNE BECK | Nov 15, 2009 8:30 pm | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) Herald, please turn off blogging. Think about it. Have some compassion toward the family. david Carlos | Nov 15, 2009 7:39 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal From a 20 yr, neighbor very very close to scene Sorry its long. We have lived here a long time so we see a lot to report and share. Encourage others who live here to post their North Road story too. We too live very near to this accident site and travel past it at least twice a day. Almost every winter the people that live in that house loose cars, trees, fences, or whatever is in their front yard due to drivers excessive speed causing them to go off the road and into their front yard. The road there was never wide enough for more than 2 lanes and some genius's go and put a turn lane in the middle where there is not near enough room for it and it even took away a major portion of a neighbor's front yard so they barely have enough length in the driveway to safely park there or risk getting hit by the cars that always CUT the corner far into the pedestrian walkway. I know someone that walks here regularly and has almost been hit several times by cars going over into the walkway so I always advise to always use caution with every approaching vehicle as if it is going to hit you because this area is getting very bad. The homes around here are always a hard sell now, It's worse than just the economy. If my house and property wasn't so just right for me I would move out of here in a second in search for a better area like the one that used to be here when I bought this place. I have also recently been passed at high speed in the area, slightly to the south of this exact site, by a car and pickup truck both being driven by young males and both were doing 50-60mph as they passed me while negotiating into that "S" curve I thought they would crash for sure. I called 911 to report and even with the license and description of the driver and vehicle, they didn't seem very interested at all. They were more interested in me not chasing the car which I was not. I was a kid before so like all other adults I know kids very well and this corner being so close to the new school will become a landmark of bragging rights as to who has gone the fastest around this curve and lived to tell about it. When I was a kid we had Ayres Corner where this competition took place. This area of North Road has always had a very high crash rate and has always proved entertaining so many times over the nearly 20 years I have lived here and have seen wreck after wreck and most of them are caused by speed and alcohol.One time some young kids were speeding along this road drunk and hitting garbage cans along the street, oooops that one was really a tree, not a garbage can, so you can guess what happened........ 3+2=5 and that's only the ones I witnessed. How many more before something is done about this? I always knew alcohol and speed = death. When us kids wanted to speed we found a wide open freeway away from other drivers and we never raced against other cars and guess what? We're still alive and. It's interesting how the media always reports that alcohol may have .... whatever, just report the facts as best you can and we can handle the truths and please always report everything and remember you are not in a court of law so stop acting like it. If a car has beer bottles in it then report that finding. There are way to many wrecks on this road because of speed and alcohol and as interesting as the wrecks may be its time for them to stop especially since they are so close to my front yard also, I do feel sorry for the parents and families for they are the ones that are suffering very much now as there can be no loss as great as the senseless loss of a child or sibling due to another persons negligence. Mr. D | Nov 15, 2009 12:26 pm | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) Regardless of the circumstances I feel sorry for the families of the young men. We have all made mistakes. Greg Koontz | Nov 15, 2009 10:53 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) While the speed limit in this area is 35 mph, the 25 mph corner is truly a 25 mph corner. To hit this corner at 70-80 mph is simply suicidal. I drove by the crash site twice yesterday, as it's along my regular routes to and from places in my neighborhood. The scar on the trunk of the massive tree hit by the car is quite impressive. I feel sorry for the homeowners who had two people die in their front yard through no fault of their own. Doug Vavrick | Nov 15, 2009 9:47 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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