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Spokane
Separate crashes kill 3, close roads for hours
Thomas Clouse
Staff writer
July 21, 2004
A head-on collision on U.S. Highway 195 south of Spokane killed two people and a roll-over accident on Interstate 90 just east of the Idaho border killed the driver this morning. Both fatal crashes caused emergency personnel to close the respective roadways for hours.
Killed in the rollover crash was 41-year-old Ken Saucier, the president of the Seattle police union, the Associated Press reported.
Saucier was driving westbound on Interstate 90 just east of the Washington state line when he drifted onto the left shoulder at about 4 a.m. He overcorrected and rolled the 2001 Ford Ranger pickup, Idaho State Police Trooper Ron Sutton in a news release.
Saucier, a police officer since 1986 and guild president since 2002, died at the scene. Wesley S. Lorenz was riding in the pickup with Saucier at the time. Lorenz was transported to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur dAlene where he was treated and released, Sutton said.
Both Saucier and Lorenz were wearing seatbelts and investigators found no evidence that alcohol was a factor, Sutton said in the release. Traffic was redirected for hours after the crash and began flowing in I-90s westbound lanes at about 8:15 a.m.
In the other fatal crash, two pickups traveling on U.S. 195 collided head-on at about 5:30 a.m. just north of Rosalia, Washington State Patrol Trooper Kris Schweigert said.
Both pickups left the roadway after the collision and one of them caught fire. Both drivers had died, probably on impact, he said.
Killed was a 25-year-old man driving the southbound pickup and a 19-year-old woman who was driving the northbound pickup. Neither driver had been named by midday pending notification of family.
No witnesses saw the crash, Schweigert said.
There was massive damage to both vehicles, Schweigert said.
The cause has not been determined, he said.
At this time, its thought that the female driver was not wearing a seatbelt but she did have an activated airbag, Schweigert said. The male driver was wearing a seatbelt but his truck did not have an airbag.
It appears both vehicles were traveling at highway speed, he said of the highways 60 mph speed limit. Thats quite an impact.
The fatal crash today was just four miles south of a head-on collision Monday between two semitrucks that seriously injured both drivers. In both crashes, the highway was bare with clear weather. I dont think the roadway was a factor in either collision, Schweigert said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Added note.
They were returning from a pistol match in Ohio. Saucier left behind a wife and 3 children.
Gary D.
Spokane
Separate crashes kill 3, close roads for hours
Thomas Clouse
Staff writer
July 21, 2004
A head-on collision on U.S. Highway 195 south of Spokane killed two people and a roll-over accident on Interstate 90 just east of the Idaho border killed the driver this morning. Both fatal crashes caused emergency personnel to close the respective roadways for hours.
Killed in the rollover crash was 41-year-old Ken Saucier, the president of the Seattle police union, the Associated Press reported.
Saucier was driving westbound on Interstate 90 just east of the Washington state line when he drifted onto the left shoulder at about 4 a.m. He overcorrected and rolled the 2001 Ford Ranger pickup, Idaho State Police Trooper Ron Sutton in a news release.
Saucier, a police officer since 1986 and guild president since 2002, died at the scene. Wesley S. Lorenz was riding in the pickup with Saucier at the time. Lorenz was transported to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur dAlene where he was treated and released, Sutton said.
Both Saucier and Lorenz were wearing seatbelts and investigators found no evidence that alcohol was a factor, Sutton said in the release. Traffic was redirected for hours after the crash and began flowing in I-90s westbound lanes at about 8:15 a.m.
In the other fatal crash, two pickups traveling on U.S. 195 collided head-on at about 5:30 a.m. just north of Rosalia, Washington State Patrol Trooper Kris Schweigert said.
Both pickups left the roadway after the collision and one of them caught fire. Both drivers had died, probably on impact, he said.
Killed was a 25-year-old man driving the southbound pickup and a 19-year-old woman who was driving the northbound pickup. Neither driver had been named by midday pending notification of family.
No witnesses saw the crash, Schweigert said.
There was massive damage to both vehicles, Schweigert said.
The cause has not been determined, he said.
At this time, its thought that the female driver was not wearing a seatbelt but she did have an activated airbag, Schweigert said. The male driver was wearing a seatbelt but his truck did not have an airbag.
It appears both vehicles were traveling at highway speed, he said of the highways 60 mph speed limit. Thats quite an impact.
The fatal crash today was just four miles south of a head-on collision Monday between two semitrucks that seriously injured both drivers. In both crashes, the highway was bare with clear weather. I dont think the roadway was a factor in either collision, Schweigert said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Added note.
They were returning from a pistol match in Ohio. Saucier left behind a wife and 3 children.
Gary D.
