Published: Saturday, July 10, 2010
U.S. 2 crash ‘horrific,’ one passenger says
2 seriously injured after SUV, horse trailer collide near Snohomish
-
Doug Ramsay / For the Herald
Firefighters tend to a injured person in an SUV while others extinguish a fire in a semi-truck on U.S. 2 on Friday near Snohomish.
-
Sarah Weiser / The Herald
A Dodge Durango, pictured in the background, was involved in a four-vehicle crash Friday on U.S. 2, along with a semi-truck (foreground).
-
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Two seriously injured men were raced to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after a fiery four-vehicle wreck on U.S. 2.
-
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Little remains of the semi’s cab. The accident’s cause is under investgation.
SNOHOMISH — Morgan Barrows remembered the sport-utility vehicle crossing the U.S. 2 centerline and heading straight toward the truck where she rode as a front-seat passenger.
The Dodge Durango SUV veered about three-quarters of the way into her lane, Barrows estimated, and hit the side of the horse trailer attached to the pickup she was riding in with her boyfriend and mother. Inside the trailer were two champion dressage horses they were taking to a show on Whidbey Island.
“It was horrific,” said Barrows, 29 of Monroe, at the scene Friday. “Every horse person’s nightmare is an accident with a horse trailer.”
The crash occurred about 11:45 a.m. between Bickford Avenue and Highway 9. The horses were OK, but the sport-utility vehicle hit two more trucks in the opposite lane, leaving two people with serious injuries.
The crossover crash was in an area with no median. The highway is notoriously dangerous; since 1999, 54 people have died on U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass.
After hitting the Dodge Ram pickup pulling the trailer, the Durango ran into a Chevrolet Colorado pickup and a semi-truck, Washington State Trooper Keith Leary said. The Durango had been headed east, the other vehicles west.
The Durango’s driver, 65, of Startup, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries, Leary said. A semi-truck driver, 33, of Kent, also was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He suffered burns.
The wreck touched off a fire that left the semi-truck’s cab burnt almost beyond recognition.
The Durango driver remained in serious condition late Friday afternoon, and the semi’s driver was in satisfactory condition, Leary said. Detectives were investigating why the SUV crossed into the opposite lane, Leary said.
Barrows, the horses’ trainer, her boyfriend and her mother were all uninjured. The horses’ owners were following in a Chevrolet Colorado pickup, the other vehicle hit, and also were uninjured, Barrows said. The horses were unharmed.
Authorities closed U.S. 2 for more than five hours for the scene investigation and cleanup. Traffic reopened about 5 p.m.
Andy Rathbun contributed to this report.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Witnesses sought
Anybody who witnessed Friday’s crash on U.S. 2, but did not provide a statement at the scene, is asked to call Washington State Patrol detectives at 360-658-2588.
The Dodge Durango SUV veered about three-quarters of the way into her lane, Barrows estimated, and hit the side of the horse trailer attached to the pickup she was riding in with her boyfriend and mother. Inside the trailer were two champion dressage horses they were taking to a show on Whidbey Island.
“It was horrific,” said Barrows, 29 of Monroe, at the scene Friday. “Every horse person’s nightmare is an accident with a horse trailer.”
The crash occurred about 11:45 a.m. between Bickford Avenue and Highway 9. The horses were OK, but the sport-utility vehicle hit two more trucks in the opposite lane, leaving two people with serious injuries.
The crossover crash was in an area with no median. The highway is notoriously dangerous; since 1999, 54 people have died on U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass.
After hitting the Dodge Ram pickup pulling the trailer, the Durango ran into a Chevrolet Colorado pickup and a semi-truck, Washington State Trooper Keith Leary said. The Durango had been headed east, the other vehicles west.
The Durango’s driver, 65, of Startup, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries, Leary said. A semi-truck driver, 33, of Kent, also was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He suffered burns.
The wreck touched off a fire that left the semi-truck’s cab burnt almost beyond recognition.
The Durango driver remained in serious condition late Friday afternoon, and the semi’s driver was in satisfactory condition, Leary said. Detectives were investigating why the SUV crossed into the opposite lane, Leary said.
Barrows, the horses’ trainer, her boyfriend and her mother were all uninjured. The horses’ owners were following in a Chevrolet Colorado pickup, the other vehicle hit, and also were uninjured, Barrows said. The horses were unharmed.
Authorities closed U.S. 2 for more than five hours for the scene investigation and cleanup. Traffic reopened about 5 p.m.
Andy Rathbun contributed to this report.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Witnesses sought
Anybody who witnessed Friday’s crash on U.S. 2, but did not provide a statement at the scene, is asked to call Washington State Patrol detectives at 360-658-2588.
Comments
(
