Grand Mound, Washington – Two People Dead in Wrong-Way Collision Involving Three Vehicles

Grand Mound, Washington (February 13, 2020) – Two people died in a wrong-way collision involving a semi truck and two cars on the southbound lanes of the Interstate 5 on early Thursday morning. According to the article from KOMO News, a 43 year-old woman from Olympia and and a 34 year-old man from Tumwater from the causing vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported in the incident.

Crews responded to the scene around 12:01 a.m.  From preliminary investigation, a Hyundai Sonata was heading north in the southbound lanes and collided head-on with a semi truck. A third vehicle struck debris that was scattered from the crash and came to rest on the right shoulder. The incident caused all southbound lanes to be closed and detoured at Maytown while investigation and cleanup was ongoing. The lanes were reopened around 5:30 a.m.

About Vehicle Accidents

We offer our sympathies and compassion for the friends and loved ones of the victims. Unfortunately, this is not the only time a collision has resulted in fatalities. In 2017, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)  have reported a total of 120, 993 car accidents. Of those accidents, 525 were fatal ad 34, 311 were possible or suspected of injuries. On the other hand, the state of Washington’s  2015 Annual Collision Data Summary reported that 6,091 commercial vehicle or heavy trucks were involved in collisions in 2015. These crashes included 38 fatal collisions, 85 serious injury collisions, 1,352 minor injury collisions, 4,565 property damage collisions, and 51 unknown injury collisions.

Give the size and build difference between cars and trucks, collisions between the two often result in dangerous situations. Specifically, trucks can weigh 20-30 times more than passenger cars, and their height and greater ground clearance can cause smaller vehicles to be more easily toppled in car-truck accidents. Consequently, studies have proven that most deaths in large truck accidents are passenger vehicle occupants, who are more vulnerable in case of collision. However, in a 2013 study, most car-truck accidents are often caused by car drivers, with relation to driver errors. Regardless of which vehicle you are driving, one must always exercise caution on the road. With both cars and trucks, drivers must be responsible for making sure their vehicle is in a good condition and not prone to vehicle failure, and to always consider the road and weather conditions.

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