Crime

What WSP says caused a truckload of crushed cars to flip on Highway 395 in Tri-Cities

Investigators believe a Chelan truck driver was going too fast when he lost control and scattered his load of crushed cars as he entered Kennewick.

It took more than nine hours to clean up the mess.

The driver was taking the load to a Tri-Cities-area scrap metal business when he was heading south from the blue bridge on Highway 395 about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

As the driver started into a curve, he lost control of the truck on the roadway just above the double roundabout. The truck and trailer with the crushed cars tipped over, Trooper Chris Thorson told the Tri-City Herald.

The load hit the guard rail, dumping the cars all along the roadway.

The driver, who was not hurt, told troopers he didn’t know what happened to cause the crash.

A semi tipped over and left crushed cars on the side of Highway 395 Tuesday.
A semi tipped over and left crushed cars on the side of Highway 395 Tuesday.

Investigators didn’t discover anything wrong with the truck, and determined he must have been driving too fast to keep control of the truck.

The crash closed one of the southbound lanes of the highway while crews got the truck on its wheels.

Thorson said it took until about 1 p.m. to get the crushed cars removed.

A semi tipped over and left crushed cars on the side of Highway 395 in Kennewick.
A semi tipped over and left crushed cars on the side of Highway 395 in Kennewick. Courtesy Washington State Patrol

This story was originally published April 10, 2024 at 5:49 PM.

CP
Cameron Probert
Tri-City Herald
Cameron Probert covers breaking news for the Tri-City Herald, where he tries to answer reader questions about why police officers and firefighters are in your neighborhood. He studied communications at Washington State University.https://mycheckout.tri-cityherald.com/subscribe?ofrgp_id=394&g2i_or_o=Event&g2i_or_p=Reporter&cid=news_cta_0.99-1mo-15.99-on-article_202404
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