Crash hurts one, closes U.S. 2
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, October 26, 2006
SNOHOMISH – A two-vehicle collision on U.S. 2 seriously injured a Snohomish man Thursday morning, closing the highway for about three hours.
The accident happened at 10:12 a.m. on the highway at Bickford Avenue near Snohomish, the Washington State Patrol reported. A Ford F150 pickup turning left onto U.S. 2 from Bickford Avenue collided with a dump truck, which was heading east on U.S. 2, said Kirk Rudeen, a State Patrol trooper.
Gregory Lee Solberg, the driver of the pickup, suffered life-threatening injuries. The 51-year-old Snohomish man was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Daniel Christensen, 42, of Snohomish was the driver of the dump truck. He was not injured, Rudeen said.
After the accident, state workers closed all the lanes of U.S. 2, forcing drivers to take detours. The highway was reopened at 1:25 p.m.
In spring 2007, the state plans to finish a $1.3 million safety study, figuring out long- and short-term projects to improve U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Skykomish.
The accident Thursday happened outside parts of the highway examined in the study.
State traffic engineers have suggested the deadly and congested highway be expanded in places from two to four lanes, and that a bypass is needed around Monroe.
Since 1999, 43 people have died in accidents on the highway between Everett and Skykomish, according to state accident records. Of those fatalities, 14 occurred in head-on collisions.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
