Snow Flurries Frustrate Commuters Collision Sends Two Sta Drivers And Two Passengers To Hospital

Thu., Jan. 27, 2000

From staff reports A snowstorm that flustered rush-hour drivers Wednesday morning sent a Spokane Transit Authority van skidding into the back of an STA bus.

The accident was among dozens reported during the storm, which left as much as 4 inches of new snow around Spokane. More snow was expected overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

The two STA vehicles were leaving Interstate 90 westbound on Lincoln Street at 8:45 a.m. when the end of the articulated bus one with an accordionlike joint in the middle began to slide.

The bus driver slowed, and a trailing car swerved to avoid a wreck. But the STA paratransit van - behind the car - couldn’t stop in time and rammed the back of the bus.

Two riders in the van were taken to a hospital, along with both STA drivers.

The Washington State Patrol said troopers responded to 25 accidents between 4:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. Most of the accidents were not serious.

Spokane police dispatchers said more than a dozen collisions were reported between 9:30 and 10:30 Wednesday morning - many of them on the South Hill.

When snow flurries let up about 11:30 a.m., some places reported snow depths of 4 inches - though most spots saw 2-3 inches. In Coeur d’Alene, snowfall continued into the afternoon.

The storm pushed January’s snowfall even further past the monthly average.

So far, Spokane has seen about 20 inches of snow this month, well above the monthly average of 15.4 inches, according to John Livingston, a forecaster at the weather service’s Spokane office.

So far this winter, 32 inches of snow has fallen in Spokane. The annual average is 48 inches.

Livingston said dry and mild weather early in the season has given way to a more typical snowy pattern for the Inland Northwest.

“It’s more of a normal winter like we were expecting,” Livingston said.

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