Published: Wednesday, September 8, 2010
A weekend of tragedy on Snohomish County-area roads
Series of car wrecks leave four dead
EVERETT -- Labor Day made for a rough weekend on area roads, leaving four dead, a half dozen injured and dozens jailed for drunken driving.
"It was an unfortunate weekend for some traveling the highways," said Trooper Keith Leary with the Washington State Patrol. "It was a very tragic weekend for some people, and our hearts go out to those people."
The trouble began before noon Friday with a serious-injury crash on I-5 in Everett. By Monday morning, fatal crashes were reported on Whidbey Island and in Arlington.
Three people died Friday after a Chevrolet Blazer struck an oncoming car on Highway 20 on Whidbey Island. Two women may face criminal charges for the crash, which is being investigated.
Early Monday, a 22-year-old Canadian man was booked into Snohomish County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault after an early morning accident on I-5. Two British Columbia women were riding without seat belts in a Nissan Pathfinder driven by the man, officials said.
Catherine H. Halliwell, 26, of Vancouver, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, but pronounced dead later in the day.
Sara Edge, 26, also of Vancouver, was transported to Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington.
The driver, who wore a seat belt and was not injured, lost control of the car and spun left into a concrete highway barrier at milepost 208 near Arlington, according to the State Patrol.
The impact caused the Pathfinder's rear hatch to open, ejecting the passengers who were lying down in the back, according to police reports. Halliwell was dragged for several hundred feet until the Pathfinder came to a stop.
The trio was returning from a Dave Matthews concert at The Gorge Amphitheatre in eastern Washington, Leary said.
The cause of the accident is being investigated.
In all, troopers made about 40 drunken-driving arrests around the county between midnight Thursday and midnight Monday. While that's only a preliminary count, the arrest numbers weren't out of the ordinary, Leary said.
"We wish we had fewer than that," he said. "Those 40 people we were able to contact are 40 lives we consider saved."
A lower number would mean more people made better decisions, he said.
Leary said this weekend's crashes also highlight the importance of seat belts. Not only is it against the law to be in a moving vehicle without wearing seat belts, those not wearing them are far more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash, Leary said.
Investigators already have determined that two of the four people who died in crashes in recent days were not wearing seat belts.
"Once the person leaves the vehicle, all protection around them is now lost," he said.
The Everett man, 23, who was hurt on I-5 in south Everett on Friday afternoon was partially ejected when his Chevrolet Blazer crashed and rolled. He was wearing a seatbelt. He was in stable condition Tuesday.
Early reports said the driver may have been cut off by a silver car while merging onto I-5. However, the patrol has ruled out the silver car as the cause of the crash. Instead, they say the Blazer driver was traveling too fast for traffic conditions.
Officials plan to release more comprehensive traffic statistics for the Labor Day weekend on Wednesday, including drunken-driving arrests for agencies around the county. The Washington State Traffic Safety Commission was unavailable for comment Tuesday, due to the state-mandated furlough.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com
"It was an unfortunate weekend for some traveling the highways," said Trooper Keith Leary with the Washington State Patrol. "It was a very tragic weekend for some people, and our hearts go out to those people."
The trouble began before noon Friday with a serious-injury crash on I-5 in Everett. By Monday morning, fatal crashes were reported on Whidbey Island and in Arlington.
Three people died Friday after a Chevrolet Blazer struck an oncoming car on Highway 20 on Whidbey Island. Two women may face criminal charges for the crash, which is being investigated.
Early Monday, a 22-year-old Canadian man was booked into Snohomish County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault after an early morning accident on I-5. Two British Columbia women were riding without seat belts in a Nissan Pathfinder driven by the man, officials said.
Catherine H. Halliwell, 26, of Vancouver, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, but pronounced dead later in the day.
Sara Edge, 26, also of Vancouver, was transported to Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington.
The driver, who wore a seat belt and was not injured, lost control of the car and spun left into a concrete highway barrier at milepost 208 near Arlington, according to the State Patrol.
The impact caused the Pathfinder's rear hatch to open, ejecting the passengers who were lying down in the back, according to police reports. Halliwell was dragged for several hundred feet until the Pathfinder came to a stop.
The trio was returning from a Dave Matthews concert at The Gorge Amphitheatre in eastern Washington, Leary said.
The cause of the accident is being investigated.
In all, troopers made about 40 drunken-driving arrests around the county between midnight Thursday and midnight Monday. While that's only a preliminary count, the arrest numbers weren't out of the ordinary, Leary said.
"We wish we had fewer than that," he said. "Those 40 people we were able to contact are 40 lives we consider saved."
A lower number would mean more people made better decisions, he said.
Leary said this weekend's crashes also highlight the importance of seat belts. Not only is it against the law to be in a moving vehicle without wearing seat belts, those not wearing them are far more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash, Leary said.
Investigators already have determined that two of the four people who died in crashes in recent days were not wearing seat belts.
"Once the person leaves the vehicle, all protection around them is now lost," he said.
The Everett man, 23, who was hurt on I-5 in south Everett on Friday afternoon was partially ejected when his Chevrolet Blazer crashed and rolled. He was wearing a seatbelt. He was in stable condition Tuesday.
Early reports said the driver may have been cut off by a silver car while merging onto I-5. However, the patrol has ruled out the silver car as the cause of the crash. Instead, they say the Blazer driver was traveling too fast for traffic conditions.
Officials plan to release more comprehensive traffic statistics for the Labor Day weekend on Wednesday, including drunken-driving arrests for agencies around the county. The Washington State Traffic Safety Commission was unavailable for comment Tuesday, due to the state-mandated furlough.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com
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