Friday morning crashes result in dead passenger, multiple injuries in Spokane
UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 18, 2022

The driver of a car reportedly ran a stop sign and struck this truck, causing it to flip on its top in a yard, Friday morning at the intersection of Queen Avenue and Alberta Street in Spokane, according to the Spokane Police Department. A man and his young child in the truck had minor injuries, while the driver of the car, Gavin Burndt, 22, sustained substantial injuries and was taken to a hospital. He also faces charges for the crash and a previous crash that morning. (Courtesy of Spokane Police Department)
A string of vehicle crashes Friday in Spokane left one person dead, and a man suspected of causing two unrelated, nonfatal collisions hospitalized.
A female passenger died at the scene of a two-vehicle crash that happened shortly before 11 a.m. in the area of Lee Street and Boone Avenue in east-central Spokane, according to a Spokane Police Department news release.
Fire personnel attempted lifesaving measures but the passenger, who had to be extricated from the sedan, was already dead, officers said.
The release said the driver of the sedan was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the truck that reportedly hit the passenger side of the sedan was not injured, nor were his two passengers, the release said. The juvenile driver did not appear to show signs of impairment, but officers said speed was likely a factor in the collision. Spokane police’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Earlier, around 7:25 a.m., officers responded to multiple calls of a hit-and-run collision on Belt Street and Wellesley Avenue in northwest Spokane, officers said.
Several minutes later, 911 received numerous calls about a collision at the nearby intersection of Alberta Street and Queen Avenue. Officers arrived to find a truck flipped over with a man and his child inside, a car with the driver pinned in the vehicle, and a fence and house badly damaged.
A video shared by SPD at vimeo.com/679352537 shows the collision at Alberta and Queen.
Officers estimate the car was traveling well over the speed limit when it allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign and hit the truck. The man and child were able to get out of the truck and sustained minor injuries. The driver of the car, Gavin Burndt, 22, was extricated and taken to a local hospital with substantial injuries, officers said.
Officers determined Burndt was involved in the crash at Belt and Wellesley, and fled that scene before running into the truck at Alberta and Queen, the release said.
Burndt faces felony hit-and-run for the first crash and reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, not having a required ignition interlock and driving with no insurance for the second crash, police said. Burndt did not show signs of impairment. Burndt was not listed in the Spokane County Jail inmate roster as of 6:45 p.m. Friday.
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