I-90 reopened over Snoqualmie Pass after Huge Accident forces Long Closure; Two dead, Truck driver arrested

UPDATE  |  February 5, 2016, 3:45PM

Westbound I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass is now reopened after a severe, fatality accident closed it for about eight hours.


ORIGINAL STORY

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSFOT) is advising driving to find an alternate route into Western Washington on Friday morning, February 5, 2016, as westbound I-90 is closed over Snoqualmie Pass due to a multi-vehicle accident near the summit at milepost 51.

WSDOT stated due to the severity of the scene, WB I-90 between milepost 54 – 106 could be closed all day.

As a result, westbound I-90 between Truck Town and SR 18 was a virtual ghost town Friday morning without the Screen Shot 2016-02-05 at 8.10.11 AMusual freight trucks occupying lanes.

Washington State Patrol (WSP) is investigating the fatality accident involving about ten cars that happened just west of Snoqualmie Pass near Franklin Falls.

Reports of the accident started coming in Before 7AM – and actually involved two separate collisions, with semi trucks also involved.

At 10:45AM, WSP stated via Twitter that the  driver of the long hauler truck involved in the collision was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide.

Two people died in the large collision(s) and three were transported by ambulance to area hospitals.

WSDOT is advising travelers to use US 2 over Stevens Pass as an alternate route until Snoqualmie Pass reopens.

Front of collision scene at milepost 51 near Snoqualmie Pass, 2/15/16. Photo: WSP
Front of collision scene at milepost 51 near Snoqualmie Pass, 2/15/16. Photo: WSP

 

Accident scene on WB 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, 2/5/16. Photo: Washington State Patrol
Accident scene on WB 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, 2/5/16. Photo: Washington State Patrol

 

Accident scene on WB 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, 2/5/16. Photo: WSP
Accident scene on WB 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, 2/5/16. Photo: WSP

Comments are closed.

Comments

  • t saddens me that this accident occurred and people were killed and severely injured. Changers have to happen on that stretch of road. Long haul semi-truck-trailers driving over the pass are horrible. It is the scariest road in Washington State. It scares me more than driving on the left side in the UK or along the Amalfie Coast in Italy. It is worse than anywhere on the I-5 corridor. The truck drivers on this pass are extremely aggressive, drive well over the speed limit and often create “Truck barricades” by taking up all of the lanes trying to pass each other. Often I have wondered why the State patrol allows this type of aggressive driving to happen especially on such a heavily used mountain pass? Perhaps if the state patrol will start consistently pulling offenders over and ticketing them, these long haul semi truck drivers may slow down, become less aggressive and start to drive this pass sanely.

  • Discover more from Living Snoqualmie

    Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

    Continue reading