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Three WA patrol cars hit in the last 10 days
A Washington State Patrol trooper escaped injury early Sunday after an unmarked patrol vehicle was slammed into by a suspected impaired driver on Interstate 5, marking the third time a state patrol vehicle has been struck along the freeway corridor in just 10 days.
DES MOINES, Wash. - A Washington State Patrol trooper escaped injury early Sunday after an unmarked patrol vehicle was slammed into by a suspected impaired driver on Interstate 5, marking the third time a state patrol vehicle has been struck along the freeway corridor in just 10 days.
What they're saying:
The crash occurred along southbound I-5 near Des Moines while the trooper was positioned behind a stalled vehicle to shield it from oncoming traffic. Two teenage girls—the driver and passenger of the disabled car—were standing on the highway shoulder as the trooper assisted them.
According to the Washington State Patrol, a 21-year-old driver stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord crashed a Honda Civic into the trooper’s unmarked Ford Explorer. The force of the rear-end impact pushed the patrol vehicle directly into the disabled car.
The trooper and the two teenagers were not injured. The 21-year-old driver and two passengers in the Civic sustained injuries and were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Updates on their medical conditions were not immediately available.
String of highway collisions in WA
Timeline:
Sunday’s collision is the latest in a rapid succession of patrol-vehicle strikes across the Puget Sound region.
Troopers have documented two other vehicle strikes in the past 10 days: one on southbound I-5 near state Route 520, and another on northbound I-5 near South 272nd Street.
Agency data highlights an ongoing hazard for first responders working highway scenes. Across the first nine months of the year, 64 Washington State Patrol vehicles were struck during traffic enforcement stops or collision investigations, leaving 19 troopers injured. Those figures do not include incidents recorded in October or November.
The danger of secondary highway collisions turned fatal in December, when Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting was struck and killed outside her patrol vehicle while investigating a two-car crash.
Washington's ‘Move Over’ requirements
Big picture view:
State law requires drivers approaching emergency vehicles, tow trucks, and highway work zones with flashing lights to take immediate precautions.
Under the state's "Move Over" law, motorists traveling on multi-lane highways must safely vacate the lane closest to an emergency vehicle. If lane changes are not safely possible due to traffic or weather conditions, drivers must reduce their speed to at least 10 mph below the posted speed limit.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Washington State Patrol and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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