By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A two-vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 12 west of Rochester on Saturday sent seven people to the hospital, including four children riding in the open back of a truck.
It was a T-bone crash at the intersection of Anderson Road that occurred when the driver of a Chevrolet Avalanche blew a stop sign, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The van it hit had 11 passenger, Trooper Guy Gill said.
“It’s never a good idea to let children ride in the back of a pickup truck,” he said.
Troopers called about 3:40 p.m. said there were no life-threatening injuries, but the occupants of the Avalanche were all taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. The speed limit on Highway 12 is 55 mph.
Nobody in the van was hurt, Gill said.
“In this case, we’re lucky we’re not dealing with fatalities,” Gill said. “In a collision like this, it could have been much much worse.”
The driver of the Avalanche, a 25-year-old Oakville woman, shouldn’t have even been behind the wheel, he said.
She was cited for driving without insurance, third-degree driving with a suspended license and four counts of allowing individuals under 16 to ride without a seat belt, according to Gill.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter