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by KOMO News Staff, Tyler Cunnington
SEATTLE — A tragic accident unfolded on Carnation-Duvall Road northeast and Fay Road northeast (SR 203) on Saturday, where a tree fell onto a car, killing one person and leaving another seriously hurt.
The falling tree sparked a two-vehicle car crash that shut down both directions of Carnation-Duvall Road for more than three hours, according to the Washington State Patrol (WSP).
Troopers report that a Subaru Forester was going southbound just north of Fay Road Northeast when a tree fell onto it, shattering on impact.
Debris from the tree was then scattered across the roadway.
The Subaru, after being hit by the falling tree, continued forward and stopped against a guardrail, blocking the southbound lane.
Eastside Fire & Rescue crews responded to the scene of the single-vehicle collision at around 2:30 p.m.
“We were able to remove the doors, using the Jaws [of Life], remove the driver's door, and make access – there was also a roof rack on top of the car, so we weren’t able to get into the top,” explained Battalion Chief Seth Merritt.
In that SUV, they found a 44-year-old woman from Duvall had died due to the impact; she was not wearing a seatbelt, the WSP said.
The driver of the Subaru, a 49-year-old man from Skykomish, suffered life-threatening injuries and was rushed to the nearby Stillwater Elementary school, which is a site that Merritt explained has been designated as a spot for helicopters to land.
“Airlift came in, picked him up, was able to take him to Harborview. It solves the problem out in these rural areas, there’s no quick way to get from Highway 203 to Harborview,” he said.
At that same moment, a truck traveling on the northbound lanes with 4 people onboard, including the driver, struck the debris and came to rest blocking the highway’s northbound lane.
“At least one other vehicle was up on top of a large section of a tree, which was stuck and not able to move,” Merritt explained.
Everyone in the truck, two adults and two children from Woodway, survived the crash and were unharmed, according to WSP.
Despite windy conditions in western Washington the last few days, Merritt says there were no strong gusts in that area at the time of the accident. Instead, he says the tree's collapse was likely due to the rainfall the valley experienced this past week.
“What we do see is that as the ground gets saturated, the amount of moisture that we get, these trees get weakened, their root systems get weakened, and they come over. It could be with no wind,” he said.
Officials in Carnation are preparing for ongoing stormy weather conditions and their associated dangers, including anticipated flooding within the next week.
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