Tri-Cities sees 270+ crashes during weekend snowstorms

The Tri-Cities led south central Washington in the number of crashes along highways and interstates during the weekend’s snowstorms.

The Washington State Patrol responded to 273 crashes in the Tri-Cities starting Friday through Tuesday morning. The majority were people driving too fast on snowy and slick roads.

By comparison, Yakima had 69 collisions, the Sunnyside and Grandview areas had 72 and Walla Walla had 29 crashes, said the WSP.

The bulk of the Tri-Cities crashes, 149, came Friday and Saturday. Troopers and police were spread thin as drivers slid off interstates 182 and 82 and highways 395 and 240.

That included a WSP patrol car that was hit when a pickup lost control on black ice on I-182 near Road 68. The trooper was responding to another crash and was parked along the median.

Trooper Chris Thorson said the trooper is fine but resting at home.

While the number of wrecks was high, just a handful ended with people needing to go the hospital.

Main highways in the region were clear of snow by Tuesday, with the worst conditions now on rural two-lane highways and roads.

This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 11:23 AM.