Police believe driver was drunk in fatal Everett wreck
Published 10:42 pm Saturday, February 27, 2010
EVERETT — Police believe an intoxicated woman driving the wrong direction on Broadway caused a head-on crash Friday that killed two people and left two others with serious injuries.
The accident happened about 9:30 p.m. in the southbound lanes of Broadway at 41st Street.
Police arrested a woman for investigation of vehicular homicide, drunken driving and vehicular assault, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
She was at the wheel of a Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicle when it crashed head-on into a Nissan SX two-door coupe that was carrying four people.
Police believe the woman in the SUV was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of Broadway when the wreck occurred, Goetz said. She apparently was unharmed in the crash.
A woman who was driving the car that the SUV struck died at the scene, as did one of her passengers, a man, Goetz said. Two other passengers, both men, remained hospitalized Saturday with serious injuries, Goetz said.
A passenger in the SUV was treated for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
The names and ages of those involved in the accident were not available Saturday.
The southbound freeway entrance to I-5 remained closed for several hours Friday night as detectives gathered evidence.
Impaired driving is the leading cause of traffic deaths in the state, according to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. More than a third of fatal crashes that occurred in Snohomish County last year involved drinking and driving, the commission’s data shows.
Last year’s toll includes two Clearview couples killed by a drunken driver on Nov. 29 while they were driving on Highway 9 in Marysville.
Friday’s crash is another tragic reminder that drinking and driving can have horrific consequences, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.
“That’s why we are out there every day, trying to get impaired drivers off the road,” he said.
As part of a statewide effort to eliminate traffic deaths, the patrol uses marked and unmarked patrols cars and helicopters to look for impaired drivers on state roads.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
