U.S. Highway 2 closed in Cascades due to heavy snow

U.S. Highway 2 remains closed today for the second day in a row because of the danger of heavy snow on trees east of Stevens Pass. Trees laden with snow were leaning out over the highway, so the Washington State Department of Transportation ordered the highway closed from the summit of Stevens Pass to the west end of Leavenworth. A Bothell couple was killed on Friday, and other injuries were reported from falling trees on Saturday. About 1:20 p.m. Friday, a tree crashed onto an SUV about 21 miles west of Leavenworth. Timothy Owen, 58, and his wife, Janine Reed, 56, both of Bothell, died at the scene, the Seattle Times reported. The couple’s adult children and a son-in-law, all in their 20s, were injured and taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee. Their oldest daughter, Jessica Owen, was in critical condition Saturday, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Son Jeremy Reed was treated and released. Their younger daughter, Jaime Owen Mayer and her husband, Steven Mayer, were transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where they were both reported in serious condition. The closure started at 6:25 p.m. on Saturday. Access to the Stevens Pass ski area was maintained from the west. Otherwise, traffic is being sent to Snoqualmie and Blewett passes to the south.