Three people were taken to Harborview Medical Center on Monday after a collision on Highway 522 east of the Snohomish River Bridge near Monroe.
A man driving a Geo Prizm just before 3 p.m. apparently lost control as he rounded a curve in the westbound lane, said Sgt. J. Bussman of the Washington State Patrol. The car struck a guardrail and skidded into the eastbound lane, where it collided with a Ford F250 truck driven by another man, he said.
Fire crews were forced to slice the tops off both vehicles to rescue the drivers and a woman who was also in the Geo, Bussman said. The three people were trapped in their vehicles for less than 10 minutes.
A third vehicle, a Nissan pickup truck, was on the road behind the Ford truck and hit the wreckage, but the driver, a 42-year-old man from Granite Falls, was not injured, Bussman said.
The crash closed the highway, which links Monroe with Bothell, for about three hours.
Police did not release the names of the people hospitalized Monday but said they were all in critical condition.
There wasn’t any ice on the road at the time of the accident, Bussman said, but wintry conditions caused collisions throughout the county Monday and sent several people to area hospitals.
A dusting of snow combined with light rain and frigid temperatures left a dangerous skin of black ice on many roads.
The National Weather Service in Seattle logged a low of 29 on Sunday. That was a new record for the day, breaking the previous record of 31 set in 2005.
Early-morning crashes closed Highway 9 and U.S. 2, backing up traffic for miles, officials said.
The accident on Highway 9 near the Snohomish River Bridge involved a garbage truck and sent at least one person to the hospital with injuries, officials said.
The U.S. 2 crash on the S. Machias Road overpass caused significant damage to several vehicles but caused no serious injuries, Snohomish County Fire District 4 paramedic Theresa Dennis said.
None of the injuries were life-threatening, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.
Later Monday morning, a sport utility vehicle slid off 15th Avenue NE at 268th Street NE and fell down an embankment, North County Fire and EMS Battalion Chief Christian Davis said.
Paramedics helped calm the driver as her small truck perched dangerously on a tree branch, he said.
Firefighters used a ladder truck to help bring the woman to safety, Davis said.
Drivers are urged to use caution, he said.
“If you start to lose control, don’t panic,” Leary said.
Conditions can change quickly, he said. It’s best to slow down and drive carefully.
There was scant additional precipitation Monday, and many roads dried off.
Temperatures rose into the high 30s and were expected to dip below freezing again by this morning’s commute, said Chris Burke, a weather service meteorologist.
“I think it won’t be that bad,” he said.
Still, he said drivers should plan extra time and slow down.
“There will be frost on the road,” he said.
On Monday morning, four trucks were spreading sand on county roads, said Steve Thomsen, the county’s public works director.
“We need to up that coverage,” he said. “It wasn’t enough.”
Thomsen said additional crews were scheduled to keep county roads safe today.
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