An accident involving a news crew shows how dangerous certain areas of Washington state have become, as hit-and-run accidents have been happening frequently in many areas.
According to local news reports, the vehicle carrying a crew from KOMO News was involved in an accident Friday night.
As the news organization’s SUV was traveling on a bridge along state Route 26, a driver going the wrong way started approaching them. As the driver in the news van swerved in order to avoid a collision, the wrong-way vehicle also swerved, causing both to crash as a result.
After the collision, the wrong-way driver who was allegedly also intoxicated, left the scene of the accident. Thankfully, nobody was injured.
As an Adams County Seriff’s deputy approached the scene, he noticed that the driver had fled the scene of the accident. He then proceeded to pursue the fleeing driver, who was later caught about a mile and a half later. The driver was then taken into the custody of officials and at the police department, his blood alcohol content was 0.253, three times the legal limit.
The accident is currently under investigation.
While we’re glad that nobody was injured and that the driver to blame for the collision was eventually caught, we continue to worry about the risks associated with hit-and-run accidents. All too often, drivers are intoxicated or even distracted, but fleeing the scene of an accident is dangerous.
Drivers who are responsible for collisions should never leave the scene until the authorities have arrived.
In the case of distracted driving, accidents will happen, even if minor, and the distracted driver won’t even know about it because he or she is so oblivious of the world around them. In this case, they end up fleeing the scene because they were distracted, not because they were being malicious.
In either case, hit-and-runs are always to be avoided, so do not drink and drive and do not become distracted by something other than the act of driving while behind the wheel. Your focus should be on driving and on the road, not on your phone, passengers, or other electronics.
We hope that this story helps other drivers by teaching them that accidents like this can be prevented if they follow road rules, stay focused, and make sure to never drink and drive.
For more information on the accident, click here.
