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Friday night on State Route 9 in Mount Vernon, a 60-year-old Mount Vernon motorcyclist was killed and four other people were injured in a multi-vehicle accident.

Seattle’s KOMO news.com reported that the motorcyclist was heading north on SR 9 when he crossed the center line and collided head on with a Honda CRS that was heading south. The Honda then crossed the median and hit a northbound Hyundai.

The 53 year old woman who was driving the Honda was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the Hyundai, who sustained minor injuries, was treated at the accident scene. Two passengers in the Hyundai were taken to Skagit Valley Hospital with minor injuries.

The accident is being investigated by police.
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A runaway dump truck hauling shards of broken concrete took motorists traveling down Madison Street, including the truck’s driver, by surprise when it crashed into a strip mall. However, the incident could have resulted in serious injury to a large number of people had the truck driver not intentionally crashed into a nearby building, thus bringing his vehicle to a halt and avoiding further reckless travel down the street. The truck did hit three cars in the process though, only one of which included a motorist that required medical attention. The dump truck driver was not injured.

According to the seattletimes.nwsource.com report, one man whose driver’s side of his car was clipped by the truck said that he saw the truck coming toward him at a high speed when he looked in his rear-view mirror. The man stated, “I could have been killed…it was unbelievable.”

Trucks serve multiple purposes and are required to dispose of waste and also transport commodities that our communities rely heavily on. Although we need trucks of all kinds to function on a daily basis, due to their great size and heavy loads, trucks can pose many dangers and hazards to other drivers on the road. Truck maintenance requires acute attention and, although it is not known at this time why the truck’s brakes failed in the above incident, defective auto parts are capable of causing serious truck accidents in Seattle that can result in catastrophic injuries.
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A recent article from seattletimes.nwsource.com discusses the recent conclusion that a Seattle ordinance created in 2005 that criminalizes certain traffic violations resulting in injury or death of an individual is in fact invalid due to its conflict with state law. Specifically in question is whether or not failing to yield the right-of-way is a violation in which a person could be held criminally responsible for. That is, the article mentions a man that failed to yield the right of way to a bicyclist. The bicyclist was consequently struck by the man’s vehicle, and died from brain injury sustained during the crash. The driver of the vehicle, having a previously unblemished driving record, was at first not prosecuted, then was charged with misdemeanor assault based on local city ordinance, and then eventually had the charges dropped once the ordinance’s inconsistency with state law was realized, ultimately deeming the man’s charges as being unenforceable and, therefore, reversed.

There are 60 traffic-related crimes in Washington in which vehicular homicide and assault, racing, reckless endangerment of roadway workers, and driving while intoxicated are included. Failing to yield the right-of-way is not a criminal traffic offense. It goes without saying that this realization represents both relief and anger to citizens. On the one hand, some believe that negligent drivers that cause imposing catastrophic injuries, especially those that take another person’s life, should not only be held civilly responsible for their actions, but criminally responsible as well, even if their actions result from failing to yield the right-of-way. On the other hand, criminal charges are extremely serious, and some feel that the harsh consequences are too intense for a person, one that has already made a mistake and is now forced to have to live with the results of reckless, negligent driving, to have to endure.
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Early Thursday morning, a Ferndale woman was left in critical condition after a pickup truck struck her on Highway 2 near Gold Bar. The woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The 49-year-old woman was taken to Harborview by ambulance after suffering leg and chest injuries in the accident, said Trooper Keith Leary of the Washington State Patrol.

At about 4:40 am, the woman was crossing an eastbound lane of traffic west of Gold Bar near the highway’s intersection with Reiter Road. The truck, driven by a 19-year-old Sedro-Woolley man, struck her near the highway’s centerline, said Leary.

According to Leary, the man saw the woman and braked hard to avoid striking her, but she continued walking in front of the truck. Troopers believe the pedestrian may have been drinking alcohol before she was struck, as she had a strong odor of intoxicants on her breath, Leary said.
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On June 24, 2009, a Seattle man was killed in a pedestrian accident suspected to have been caused by a light-shaded bus that left the scene of the incident without offering assistance. Police are in search of any information from the public regarding the details of the tragic hit-and-run crash in hopes of finding those responsible for the innocent man’s death. It is possible that the accident was recorded by a security camera on the east side of the Seattle Metropolitan Tower. In a recently released police statement, it was discussed that police officers have contacted building management in hopes of acquiring the footage and possibly identify the vehicle responsible for the accident.

If anyone within the downtown Seattle area has any information or recognizes a light-colored bus, which resembles a tour bus, with a dark stripe or dark tinted windows, please don’t hesitate to notify police at 1-800-222-TIPS with any information you may have that could help lead to finding to suspected accident vehicle.

Although it is unclear at this time what exactly caused the pedestrian accident in Seattle, it serves as an example of the immense devastation one moment of negligence can cause. Wrongful death cases such as these are especially difficult for families to endure because wrongful death incidents often leave those closest to the decedent feeling confused and without any sense of closure regarding the loss of their loved one.
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A suspected drunk driving car crash in Washington Thursday night in Allyn left two people seriously injured, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.

A 19-year-old Allyn man was driving west on the 700 block of East Lake Shore Drive in Lakeland Village around 10:15 p.m. when the car left the roadway and crashed, said deputies.

His male passenger, who was unidentified, was seriously injured, according to Mason County Chief Deputy Dean Byrd. The man was then taken to Harborview Medical Center by helicopter. He is listed in serious condition at the Seattle hospital.

A 17-year-old girl, also from Allyn, was taken to Mason General Hospital in Shelton and later flown to Harborivew. She is listed in serious but stable condition, Byrd also said.
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An article from yakima-herald.com reported that a motorcycle accident in Washington occurred after a 46-year-old Yakima-area man lost control of his bike. On Sunday morning, August 2, 2009, around 10:30 a.m., the motorcyclist was riding on the North Fork Road outside Tampico when it came to his attention that a bear was in his lane up ahead after he rounded a curve. He tried to avoid hitting the bear when he lost control and crashed. The man suffered a rib injury and was treated at a local hospital. A sergeant at the scene said the bear did not appear to have been hurt and wandered from the scene of the accident.

Although we hear about auto accidents and motorcycle accidents caused by animals in the road less often than accidents caused by negligent drivers, drivers and cyclists must prepare for anything they might encounter on the highway. As was the case in the aforementioned incident, when rounding a curve in the road, it is especially important to proceed with reduced speed and caution. Fortunately in this accident, no one was killed. Based on a 2008 NHTSA report, in 2005, motor vehicle traffic crashes were the leading cause of death amongst persons ages 3 through 6 and 8 through 34, an astounding figure that needs to be shrunk sooner rather than later.
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A $1.7 million settlement in a sexual harassment case against Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse Inc. has been announced by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
On Thursday, the deal was signed by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, and resolves a lawsuit on behalf of three workers at a Lowe’s outlet in Longview, Washington.

A 21 year old woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by the 44-year-old store manager in his office. Two other people involved in the case are men in their 20s. They joined the woman in claiming they endured six months of physical and verbal abuse. All three wound up being fired.
According to the Seattletimes.com, besides awarding them more than $1.7 million in damages, the three-year consent decree requires Lowe’s to provide anti-discrimination training to all employees in Washington and Oregon.
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Two women in Washington have suffered serious injuries in a car accident and have been taken to a Seattle-area hospital. The fiery crash occurred the night of June 23, 2009 on Evergreen Way when the vehicle with the two women was hit, while making a left-hand turn into a parking lot, by a car heading southbound. The impact of the collision split the women’s car in half just inches behind the front seats. Landing about eighty feet away, the back half of the car instantly exploded in flames that shot fifteen feet in the air. Luckily, no one was sitting in the backseat.

The accident is still being investigated by police to determine whether alcohol was a factor or if the southbound vehicle was speeding at the time of the collision. If police discover that the auto accident was caused by any of these factors, the driver of the southbound vehicle could face criminal charges and/or be held financially responsible for expenses, pain and suffering, and damages suffered by the victims.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s 2005 Annual State Highway Collision Data Summary, fatalities caused by auto accidents have dropped 5% since 2001. Consequently, catastrophic injuries have also declined during the same period of time. Unfortunately though, total crashes have increased 5% over the last five years.
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According to the Tacoma News Tribune, a 41-year-old Sumner man was critically injured and a 41-year-old Puyallup woman was seriously injured in a single-car accident on Highway 162 near Sumner.

It was reported that the man lost control of the car he was driving as he was attempting to pass another car around 11:15pm on Sunday. Apparently, his car hit a fire hydrant, two concrete dividers and a telephone pole.

Police are reporting that alcohol was a factor in the car accident. The female passenger was apparently wearing her seat belt while the male driver was not wearing a seat belt.
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