Photo courtesy Snohomish Fire District 4
SNOHOMISH — A 31-year-old driver from the Snohomish area died in a major crash on Second Street at Maple Avenue overnight around 12:45 a.m. Sunday, March 17 in which the car split in half after hitting a pole.
The driver was going at an excessive rate of speed on U.S. 2, from eyewitness reports.
Washington State Patrol did attempt a traffic stop, but did not pursue, said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Courtney O’Keefe.
Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Kelsey Harding updated the Tribune on Tuesday that the Trooper didn't catch up to the car to initiate a traffic stop, and was not in pursuit of the vehicle.
The driver fled troopers and came into Snohomish via 88th Street SE. The Trooper did not witness the car crash but came upon it while coming down Second Street, Harding said.
Coming along Second, a driver in a blue car attempted to pass a white truck turning left at Maple Avenue and clipped the truck, rotating the car into the pole.
Pictures provided to press show part of a blue car wrapped around a pole at the southwest corner of Second and Maple, a major car component ended up in front of Triangle Bait and Tackle and a large half of the vehicle broke off and traveled down Second Street to the corner of Second and Bowen.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has not been released publicly yet.
A second driver in a white 1970s Ford supercab truck involved in the crash was treated at the scene and was not hurt.
Snohomish Police were on emphasis foot patrol that night at the bars and did not dispatch to the speeding car, Snohomish Police Chief Nathan Alanis said post-press.
Another crash
A four-vehicle accident Monday evening at Second and Maple sent two people to Providence hospital and required treating five others, Fire District 4 reports. Snohomish Chief Alanis said the number of vehicles involved was six.
One was seriously injured, and one of the patients required extrication from the vehicle. Snohomish Police attribute the cause to speed, and preliminary information indicates no driver was intoxicated, Alanis said. The police department is investigating.
An eyewitness to the aftermath described a car that was smashed heavily ended up in the Pilchuck Drive-In parking lot. A white SUV heavily smashed in the front sat on Second Street by Triangle Bait & Tackle. The crash was called in at 7:41 p.m. Monday evening.
Intersection not specifically to blame
At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, city Public Works Director Nova Heaton said the intersection's design did not contribute to these crashes.
Two crashes in two nights at the same place was a "statistical anomaly," she said.
However, she said this shows the city should renew the push for the Second Street Master Plan which will narrow the road lanes and alter the road's appearance. The master plan was discussed heavily a few years ago with public meetings in 2018, but since then the city has not sought funding to construct it yet.
Other Second Street projects include a roundabout at Second and Pine.
Other ways for road safety could be reducing speed limits. The city contemplated adding 20-mph speed limits in 2021 in the past.
