Hwy 522 crash deadliest in 4 years
Published 11:53 am Thursday, August 5, 2010
MONROE — It was the deadliest crash in Snohomish County in four years.
The wreck that killed three men near Monroe early Saturday now ranks as the worse traffic accident since three people died on Memorial Day 2005 along I-5.
Three deaths in one accident is out of the ordinary and above the average in Snohomish County, said Dick Doane, a statistician with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
The deadliest crash in Snohomish County records occurred just before midnight on Aug. 29, 1998. That’s when two cars collided on Highway 9. A driver drifted into the wrong lane and overcorrected, Doane said. Four people in one car and one person in the other car died.
Washington State Patrol troopers believe something similar happened Saturday night about 2 a.m. on Highway 522.
The driver of a Hyundai appears to have lost control and swerved across the center line into oncoming traffic.
The patrol identified the men who died as Christopher Anderson, 26, of Everett; Brian James Morgan, 23, of Lynnwood; and Steven Torres, 34, of Everett.
Investigators still are trying to determine what caused the crash, including if drugs or alcohol were factors.
Between 1993 and 2008, there were 712 fatal crashes in Snohomish County, killing 777.
Snohomish County averages about 43 traffic deaths each year. Through July, 16 people have died, records show.
“You are actually likely to see a drop by the end of this year,” Doane said. “Of course, we cannot foresee every eventuality, so the current 2009 trend may not hold for the remainder of 2009.”
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
Benefit skate
A roller skating benefit is 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. tonight at the Everett Skate Deck.
Admission is $5 and proceeds will help pay for funeral costs for two of the men who died in a traffic crash near Monroe on Saturday.
One of the men who died, Christopher Anderson, was a disc jockey at the skating rink.
For more information, call the Skate Deck at 425-337-0202.
