Three people die in head-on crash on highway ramp
Driver was going wrong way, WSP says
Three people were killed early Thursday when a vehicle driving the wrong way on the eastbound on-ramp of U.S. Highway 2 onto Interstate 90 collided with another car.
The ramp was closed for at least three hours after the 2:11 a.m. accident, the Washington State Patrol said.
Dead at the scene were Sterling N. Kruger, 22, of Davenport, Wash.; James Roscoe Bolton, 61, of Spokane Valley; and Trina Louise Erickson, 47, of Spokane Valley, troopers said.
Kruger was driving to the west in the eastbound lanes of I-90 in a 1996 Honda Accord when he entered the Highway 2 on-ramp going the wrong way, troopers said.
He collided with a 1998 Dodge Stratus driven by Bolton. Erickson was a passenger with Bolton.
Bolton’s vehicle was traveling correctly in the right-hand eastbound lane of the two-lane on-ramp.
Troopers said it was unknown if alcohol or drugs were involved. The investigation is continuing.
Bolton and Erickson were wearing seat belts; Kruger was not, troopers said.
Bolton was custodian at Evergreen Middle School, where the principal described him as proud of his work in an e-mail to parents. Counselors and support staff from Central Valley School District were at Evergreen through the day Thursday to help children cope with the loss, said the principal, John Parker.