SNOWY CONDITIONS
MAKES FOR BUSY DAY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT IN WASHINGTON STATE’S TRI-CITIES AREA
Posted: Jan 04, 2015 9:36 PM EST Updated: Jan 05, 2015
2:47 AM EST
The Tri-Cities is a mid-sized
metropolitan area in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington,
consisting of three neighboring cities: Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. The cities
are located at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia rivers in the
semi-arid region of Southeastern Washington.
UPDATE/TRI-CITIES - WSDOT reopened State Route 240
around 9:00 p.m. Sunday night after multiple car crashes this evening near
where I-182 splits off.
WSP says two separate collisions, one involving two cars
and the other involving four cars caused heavy delays in the area.
Officers diverted traffic while they cleared the
collisions to Steptoe St., Columbia Center Drive and George Washington Way.
WSP says no one was injured in these crashes.
Officers also responded to several crashes on I-82
toward Benton City Sunday.
Again no injuries were reported.
Officer say the crashes were spread out through the
interstate.
Police say drivers should take extra caution on some of
those side roads.
Kennewick Police say the newly paved areas on Olympia
Avenue past 27th Ave. were pretty slick, they responded to two accidents there
Sunday night.
Officers are hoping warmer temperatures can help improve
these road conditions.
PREVIOUS DETAILS - Residents in the Tri-Cities
woke up to blankets of snow covering neighborhoods and roadways Sunday morning,
making it their first winter snow of 2015.
"Usually we get a little skip and that's it.
It just goes away and it's gone," said Ray May, Kennewick resident.
Many residents did not know how much snow to expect and
that may have caused dozens of accidents reported in the area.
"We have had a few collisions, but thankfully it's
been pretty minimal," said Sgt. Brian Vaught, Pasco Police Department.
Pasco Police said a lot of people might have stayed
inside Sunday to avoid the conditions. Kennewick had accidents, Richland
had nearly six, Benton County said they responded to an accident, and
Washington State Patrol responded to a couple dozen accidents in the Tri-Cities
area.
One vehicle lost control after getting on the SR 395
North ramp in Kennewick and slid into the fence.
A semi-truck even had problems out on the roads, as
well.
There was also a report of an accident in Hermiston.
One in Walla Walla caused a car to slide into a light pole, making it a
very busy day for law enforcement.
"Don't just drive the speed limit, but drive for
the conditions. Look farther ahead of you and make sure that you're
prepared to meet any obstacles that are out there and slow down early.
That's the big thing," said Sgt. Vaught.
Besides the accidents, some did enjoy the snowy weather.
One family helped clear off their driveway and had a snowball fight, but
they did not let that snow go to waste.
"Once we're done with that, we might build a
snowman. It could happen," said Michael Johnson, Pasco resident.
For extra caution, Pasco Police warn drivers to be
careful out on the roadways, especially traveling on some of those side roads.
There have been no serious injuries reported from these
accidents.