Freeway Accidents

Do You Know What Causes Thousands of Washington Freeway Accidents?

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on January 21, 2014

Most people know that speeding is a surefire way to cause a serious crash on Washington roads. The speed at which you are traveling at the time of a collision will directly affect the severity of the damage to your car and the injuries you suffer. Since you can legally travel at speeds of 60 or even 70 miles per hour on urban and rural interstates, it is not a surprise that so many of the most devastating Washington car crashes occur on our freeways.

But speed is not the only reason behind the thousands of crashes that happen every year in our state. Many devastating freeway crashes involve: Read the rest »

Ridgefield Woman Loses Her Life in Car Accident Near Mount St. Helens

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on February 22, 2012

A 61-year-old woman from Ridgefield, Washington lost her life recently when she collided with an Oregon driver on Interstate 5 near Mount St. Helens, according to a recent article from Oregon Live.

The head-on crash occurred when the Portland, Oregon driver’s vehicle crossed the center line and hit the Ridgefield couple’s vehicle head-on. The 61-year-old woman was riding as a passenger in the vehicle when it was hit, along with her husband, who was driving. The woman was severely injured, and though rescue workers rushed her to a Vancouver hospital, she died shortly after arrival. Her husband’s status following this freeway accident is unknown. Read the rest »

Runaway Tire Triggers Fatal Snohomish Highway 2 Crash

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on September 27, 2011

A tire that came off a vehicle and flew into traffic on Highway 2 near Snohomish this weekend left an Everett man dead and several other people injured, according to The Daily Herald.

The tire came loose from a Chevy Astro van heading west on Highway 2. The tire crossed the highway’s center line and traveled into the eastbound lane, directly into the path of the Everett man’s vehicle. As he swerved to avoid the flying tire, his vehicle crossed the center line and was struck by an oncoming SUV. Read the rest »

Interstate 5 Truck Crash Leaves One Dead and Two Injured

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on August 29, 2011

A box truck collided with a minivan on Interstate 5 near Lakewood recently, and the accident left one person dead and two others injured, according to a recent article in The Seattle Times.

The Washington vehicle accident occurred during the early morning hours before sunrise. The minivan had slowed down or stopped near the exit to State Road 512 due to an equipment or mechanical failure. The van’s driver and two passengers had not yet gotten out of the van to find out what was wrong before a box truck rear-ended the minivan. The force of the collision pushed the minivan across the freeway from the right shoulder into the far left lane. Read the rest »

Woman Tries to Save Ducks, Causes Multi-Vehicle Accident on I-5

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on July 22, 2011

A recent multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 5 near Seattle was caused by a woman who had stopped her car on the interstate in order to herd a family of ducks safely across the roadway, according to a recent article in The Seattle Times.

Unfortunately, the woman’s attempt at being a good Samaritan backfired, as at least two cars, including the woman’s own vehicle, and a tractor-trailer were involved in the multi-car crash that resulted. At least two of the ducks the woman was trying to save were also killed in the Washington freeway accident, according to investigators. No human beings were killed or seriously injured in the crash, but the accident tied up southbound traffic on the freeway north of Seattle for several hours, closing all the southward-traveling lanes as rescue workers strove to move the disabled vehicles, including the jackknifed tractor-trailer, out of the way. Read the rest »