An accident that took place on the North Spokane Corridor involved a driver who was reportedly intoxicated. According to law enforcement, both the 37-year-old driver and the 9-year-old passenger were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
No other vehicles were involved.
The crash happened when the driver headed south on the highway around 1:30 a.m. Officials say that’s when she allowed the vehicle to veer off the roadway, rolling several times. After the accident, which happened just northeast of Spokane, the 9-year-old was able to climb out of the vehicle. The driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, was ejected. She is reportedly in critical condition.
Officials said the driver was under the influence at the time of the accident.
Intoxicated Driving: Never A Good Idea
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in every three traffic deaths nationwide involve a drunk driver.
While drunk driving-related fatal crashes have gone down in recent years across the country, Washington state officials reported that 1,921 people were killed in drunk driving-related crashes between 2003 and 2012.
After a modest drop in the death rates between 2009 and 2014 in the state, the numbers picked up again in 2016, with 278 people perishing as a result of intoxicated driving accidents in that year.
In the accident near Spokane, both the child and the driver were injured as a result. We hope that both this report and the official drunk driving accident numbers will help our readers and clients to keep things in perspective. We must all do our part to help make roads safe.
Keep in mind that driving is a serious responsibility. Put safety first and avoid accidents by never drinking and driving.
For more on this accident, follow this link to read the full report.
