A man from Kelso was arrested after being linked to multiple hit-and-run accidents. According to officials, the man was driving under the influence at the time of the accident.
Washington State Patrol officials said that the 37-year-old man from Kelso was behind the wheel of a silver Mercedes when he hit a parked car on Northwest Cascade Avenue. Following the crash, the driver took off.
About ten minutes later, officials said that a caller complained that the same Mercedes had hit a second parked car as he made his way to southbound Interstate 5. The driver eventually crashed his vehicle a third time near Exit 63.
WSP troopers who identified the driver said that the Mercedes had no license plates.
The man was taken into custody for driving under the influence as well as other past charges.
Law enforcement did not disclose any information regarding the crashed vehicles. No injuries were reported.
WSP: DUI, Distracted Driving Not The Only Factors In Most Washington State Accidents
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation Crash Data Portal, officials registered 45,524 accidents on WA roads during 2019 alone. And while at least 4,091 of these crashes involved distracted drivers, drunk drivers were named in 3,092 collisions. Teen drivers, on the other hand, were mentioned in a significantly higher number of incidents. According to the WSDOT, at least 6,037 crashes involved inexperienced motorists in 2019.
Because of our experience in personal injury law, we have helped a great deal of people whose lives were forever changed due to traffic collisions. In many of these cases, victims suffered because guilty parties were drinking and driving or distracted. In other cases, however, inexperienced drivers exposed themselves and others to a great deal of pain, all due to their lack of driving experience and failure to follow traffic rules.
If you are a parent, keep that in mind. When your child is ready to drive, make sure he or she is fully aware of the fact that driving is a responsibility and that driving defensively is essential.
For more on the hit-and-run accidents and the driver’s arrest, follow this link.
