Crash slows already constricted I-90 traffic

A three-vehicle crash on Interstate 90 near the top of Sunset Hill changed the relatively smooth traffic flow Monday morning to a gridlock mess.

Traffic backed up for miles in the westbound lanes of the freeway; Second and Third avenues were then clogged by the overflow.

“This is the worst-case scenario,” Washington State Patrol Lt. Bob Kerwin said. The fear was that the construction would slow traffic down. To have a crash just beyond the roadwork area was bad, he said.

About 10:10 a.m., a WSP trooper was attempting to stop a semitruck that appeared to have overheated brakes, Kerwin said. As he slowed, a Jeep Grand Cherokee plowed into the back of the red, unmarked patrol car and sent it flying to the other side of the westbound lanes. The patrol car glanced off another vehicle and came to a stop facing east.

Trooper Troy Corkins, 37, suffered a severe cut to his head and a concussion, Kerwin said.

The patrol car looked like an accordion. The trooper called the dispatcher, saying he’d have to be extricated – the impact had left the car too crumpled to open the doors.

The driver of the Jeep told police he saw the trooper’s blue lights, but couldn’t stop in time.

The crash is still under investigation, Kerwin said. Officials have not determined if the Jeep’s driver will be ticketed.

It’s the third time in a week that a WSP trooper has been injured in a traffic incident.

Trooper Carmen Harrington was hit by a truck’s side mirror on May 8. She was standing along the fog line of a road in Ritzville. She suffered a compression fracture to her spine, and several bumps and bruises.

Trooper Eugene Trevino was sideswiped in his patrol car at Ruby and Boone on Friday. He was responding to a call to assist another trooper. Trevino was taken to Valley Hospital where he was treated and released.

According to Washington state law, if there’s an emergency vehicle on the side of the roadway – whether it’s an ambulance, a firetruck or a law enforcement vehicle – motorists need to change lanes whenever possible to get away from it. If they can’t change lanes, they are supposed to slow down. The fine for disobeying is $101.

Spokane-area law enforcement plan to conduct special patrols in the next two weeks to make sure drivers are aware of the emergency vehicle law.