A driver heading the wrong way on SR-18 smashed head-on into another driver Thursday evening, resulting in a fiery crash that left the victim dead and the causing driver under arrest in a hospital.
911 dispatchers received multiple calls that an SUV was heading west in the eastbound lanes of SR-18 near Auburn just before 7:30 p.m., according to Trooper Rick Johnson with the Washington State Patrol.
Moments later, the SUV collided head-on with a minivan near Auburn-Black Diamond Road, sending the minivan into a barrier and then onto its side where it burst into flames, Johnson said.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene but found the driver of the minivan had died. The SUV driver was critically injured and was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Johnson says the 39-year-old man driving the SUV will be arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide. It's unclear why he was going to the wrong way nor how long he was on the highway before the crash.
KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle
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Washington took a big step Thursday toward a long-discussed earthquake early warning system by sending test alerts to mobile phones, but many people didn’t receive the messages.
“This is why we test, so we have an idea of what we need to work on, what improvements we need to make,” said Maximilian Dixon, who heads geologic hazards for the state emergency management division.
The ShakeAlert test via wireless emergency alert (WEA) was only available in King, Pierce and Thurston counties, and required people to opt-in. Next week, state officials will get survey results from people who clicked on a link within the alert. For a few minutes around the time of the 11 a.m. test, the website crashed.
The results will report who got the test message, what kind of phone they used, their carrier, and how quickly the message arrived.
KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle
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More than 460,000 counterfeit 3M N-95 surgical masks that were on their way to Puget Sound area first responders were intercepted by federal investigators, Homeland Security officials said. The masks are a critical tool used by health care providers and first responders to protect themselves from the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne dangers.
Seven local organizations had bought the masks, which were worth nearly $600,000 at list prices, but officials said many victim organizations have had to pay well over list price in competing for limited supplies.
“Counterfeit surgical masks are a serious threat to the front-line personnel who rely on them as they bravely combat this pandemic. Ensuring the integrity of the PPE supply chain is of utmost importance,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security operations in the Pacific Northwest.
Earlier this month it was discovered hundreds of thousands of fake masks had been distributed to hospitals across the state.
KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle
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