Alcohol Suspected In Wrong-Way Crash On I-5

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By By KOMO Staff

Summary

A speeding car crossed into oncoming traffic Thursday afternoon, killing three people. And a helicopter called in to transport one of the injured had to make an emergency landing.

Story Published: Feb 16, 2006 at 2:58 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 2:12 AM PDT

Alcohol Suspected In Wrong-Way Crash On I-5
BURLINGTON - Three people were killed and another was critically injured in a wrong-way crash on I-5 north of Burlington Thursday afternoon, and troopers say alcohol is likely to blame.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Tim Crane said a red Geo Prizm was speeding south when the driver crossed into the northbound lanes of I-5 just after 4 p.m., and smashed into a PT Cruiser, killing the female drivers of both cars and injuring several other people.

The driver of the Geo was identified Friday as 18-year-old Amanda Kinley of Bellingham. The driver of the Cruiser was 47-year-old Martha Ann McIntrye of Deming.

Two Airlift Northwest helicopters were called in to transport a critically-injured man and woman, who were passengers in the Geo, to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Shortly after picking up a patient, one of the aircraft had to make an emergency landing at nearby Skagit Bay View Airfield when an engine chip light came.

The helicopter landed at Bay View without incident, said Airlift Northwest spokeswoman Mardie Rhodes. A third helicopter was sent to the airfield to pickup the patient and take the person to Harborview.

Rhodes said the helicopter that made an emergency landing will be checked out by a mechanic before it is allowed to fly again.

The northbound lanes of I-5 were closed for several hours while troopers investigated the collision and worked to clear the mangled vehicles. Southbound traffic was moving slowly through the area.

The State Patrol said 21-year-old Courtney Smith, who was taken to Harborview, died shortly after arriving at the hospital. It is not known whether he was transported on the helicopter that was forced to make an emergency landing. The other passenger in the Geo, an 18-year-old girl from Abbotsford, B.C., was still at Harborview in critical condition Friday.

Trooper Crane said the car that crossed into oncoming traffic was going 80-90 miles per hour when it smashed into another car head-on and that alcohol was likely a factor in the crash. Open alcohol containers were found in the speeding car, Crane said.