SPOKANE COUNTY- Washington State Patrol (WSP) reported approximately 104 collisions in the Spokane metropolitan area Wednesday. The majority of the collisions were said to be on I-90 eastbound near Liberty Lake.
The majority of Wednesday’s I-90 collisions were handled from Barker Road, Exit 293, all the way to Liberty Lake.
“Prior to the Liberty Lake exit, we had a semi vehicle collision that caused multiple Chain Reaction collisions in the eastbound lanes. Unfortunately, DOT wasn’t able to get in there. And then with the pile up, they couldn’t get in there at all because the road was blocked,” Sgt. Greg Riddell, public information officer for WSP, said.
WSDOT and WSP confirmed that the majority of the collisions on I-90 were caused by drivers going too fast for conditions.
But, the increase of snow, accidents and car breakdowns brings a surge in business to auto shops, like Clark’s Tire & Automotive.
“We’re seeing a lot of mechanical repairs come in. Batteries, starters, vehicle’s not starting, charging, also some spin outs, people spin out… lose control, damage their vehicles, they get ’em towed in for repair,” Chris Clark, owner of Clark’s Tire & Automotive, said.
Clark’s Tire & Automotive has two locations, but Clark told NonStop Local that their Spokane Valley location has had 14 cars come in for repairs since the snow began Tuesday night.
Multiple cars that were in the traffic collisions on I-90 near Liberty Lake were towed into Clark’s business
Clark showed NonStop Local one car that had been damaged in a collision on I-90 Wednesday. The repairs to fix that vehicle will cost about $1650, plus tax.
“…ultimately, we would like to get those roads cleared sooner. But because of the complex collision, we weren’t able to do that at the Liberty Lake…collisions,” Sgt. Riddell said.
Riddell also confirmed that there were accidents in the westbound lanes near Barker Road on I-90 that were caused by people rubbernecking and diverting their attention to the traffic and collisions in the eastbound lanes.
