1 killed, 1 injured as car slams into motorcycle in Skagit Co.
SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. - A car driven by a suspected drunk driver slammed into a motorcycle with two people aboard it Saturday evening on a rural road outside Sedro-Woolley, injuring the motorcyclist and killing the passenger who was riding with him.
State troopers responded to the scene, on Cook Road east of Collins Road, at about 5:45 p.m. after receiving a report of a serious crash.
The motorcyclist, Christopher T. Mask, 48, and his passenger, Kathleen L. Mask, 55, both of Sedro-Woolley, were taken to Skagit Valley Hospital. Kathleen Mask died from her injuries at the hospital.
A preliminary investigation found that a 2001 Honda Accord driven by John R. Albrecht, 76, of Sedro-Woolley was heading east on Cook Road.
At the same time, the Masks' 2012 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was stopped in the eastbound lane of Cook Road, waiting to make a left turn.
The Honda failed to stop and crashed into the rear of the motorcycle, the State Patrol reported.
Albrecht was not injured. He was booked into Skagit County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
Alcohol or drugs were believed to be a factor in the crash.
State troopers responded to the scene, on Cook Road east of Collins Road, at about 5:45 p.m. after receiving a report of a serious crash.
The motorcyclist, Christopher T. Mask, 48, and his passenger, Kathleen L. Mask, 55, both of Sedro-Woolley, were taken to Skagit Valley Hospital. Kathleen Mask died from her injuries at the hospital.
A preliminary investigation found that a 2001 Honda Accord driven by John R. Albrecht, 76, of Sedro-Woolley was heading east on Cook Road.
At the same time, the Masks' 2012 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was stopped in the eastbound lane of Cook Road, waiting to make a left turn.
The Honda failed to stop and crashed into the rear of the motorcycle, the State Patrol reported.
Albrecht was not injured. He was booked into Skagit County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
Alcohol or drugs were believed to be a factor in the crash.
RIP Mrs. Mask. This idiot driver should be put away for life, minimum. He murdered this man's wife in cold blood because of his actions. I truly wish that he had been killed instead of the woman. Now a family has been torn because it was more important to drive impeded than to ask for help. Lock him up and throw away the key.
When will the people who are hired and clearly paid to stop or stiffen the penalties against the idiots that drink and drive and kill or mame or ever hit and run people leaving most for dead start doing something about it??
Are we such idiots called human beings?? What the heck are we that we allow all this to continue??
Really??
Talk about guns...BullShi$%^&*()_=ttttttt....Drunk ass$%^&*()_+holes!!
On a motorcycle sometimes you have to go past that left turn and exit to the right ..... turn around and come back so you can take a right instead. When it is dark it's even more dangerous to stop and take a left. Don't depend on someone seeing you. A lot of bike tail lights aren't very bright on top of it being a gamble if someone is paying attention or not.
As you can tell by my avatar, I ride. My heart goes out to Kathleen's family and Christopher for their loss. In my years of riding in this state, I have grown eyes all the way around, and as an extra precaution, equipped my Heritage with VERY loud pipes. If I'm not going to be seen, by golly, I'll be heard. Either way, it doesn't alter the fact that some dumb ass drunk was driving a car, killed ONE person, injured another, and noone is trying to ban cars. Drunk drivers cause more death in our country than gun related crimes, yet no one does anything substantial about it. Of course, we've all read recently about senators, lawmakers, and legislators getting busted for D.U.I. The double standards MUST stop,
@Harley-H.S.C. The MSF doesn't recommend louder pipes for ones safety -- just sayin.
 @Harley-H.S.C. ...and as an extra precaution, equipped my Heritage with VERY loud pipes....
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no, not for safety - you do it for attention.
 @unobtanium  @Harley-H.S.C. "- you do it for attention." Exactly.
Attention = being noticed = good. Ride on.
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RIP to Mrs. Mask, and strength to Mr. Mask.
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As a fellow rider, I pulse my oversized and superbright triple LED brake and tail ights continuously when I have to stop for a left turn - day or night (and avoid riding at night as much as possible)
And I have loud(er) pipes, too. I know they're annoying to some people but until car drivers (cagers as we call them) start noticing bikes, I'd rather be annoying than in the hospital or worse.
Just a couple of blocks from my house... I could see the activity from here. Hits home...ya know ?
So Sad! You would think a person 76 yrs old - been driving for 50+ years, probably never been caught or punished for a DUI even though did it more than once, its 5:45pm and already drunk, not only does he need to be put away for the rest of his life, if he was at a place of business who served him the drinks and failed to follow the law, cut his drinks off and call for a ride or call the police, that place of business needs to be held accountable as well. I also ride a motorcycle and I know of several friends who has been injured because someone else was not paying attention and its my friends who had to suffer, time something gets done to stop the DUI and made the person pay more than 2-3 years and then back on the road so they can do it again........sorry for the loss of this person who was out enjoying what was suppose to be a fun time...now the family has to deal with the loss because someone had too many drinks....lock him up and throw the keys away...we don't need him on the road anymore.Â
76 years just might be a contributing factor.
Where were my parents telling me about the real world? They bought me out first.
Of course the drunk wasn't hurt. They never are.
Another drunk brings sorrorw, pain and death to others. Condolences to the Mask family and their friends. I hope they throw the book at this guy. This is who he is and has not problem with it at age 76.
Don't you just love that term "vehicular homicide"? That means that someone can go out and get drunk or high, kill someone and end up getting a slap on the wrist for it. Second degree murder is worth 15 to life (?) while this "vehicular homicide" gets you 2-3 years. What the hell is the difference? The person is dead and this turkey did it deliberately by driving impaired and only gets a slap on the hand. We need a change on this law and it needs to be stiffened to detour people from doing it. It unfortunately will not stop everyone, but the ones that kill someone will be off the road for a long time. Taking their license does not stop them as police records show so we need to stiffen the laws. Â
76 years old AND drunk -- b a s t a r d!
As a rider, I am always vigilant, Â more so from the back. I assume I am blind to every cage out there, and I ride a huge bike. RIP Kathleen.Â
 @Tolly371 Don't kid yourself----its extremely dangerous, mostly due to the other guy.....
Probably not this fool's first DUI either.
 @Ankle Biter You can bet it ain't the first time he drove drunk......
Why I quit Riding.
 @StSimeon You don't have to explain to us why you're a wimp.  Riding isn't for everyone.  And if you think that is the only way that life will kill you well you aren't living to its fullest.  Life is meant to be rough.  To hit the end covered in gravel and to say boy what a ride. Â
 @somegoofyguy  @StSimeon Life is meant to be rough.  To hit the end covered in gravel and to say boy what a ride.
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bla bla bla. Not everyone shares that conviction. And if YOU ride a bike yourself because you want life to be "rough", well, then YOU are most likely part of the 1% of riders that gives 99% of us a bad name.
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For that reason alone I'd ask you to step of the bike, because riders that "live life to the fullest" on their bikes, are usually the ones that not only take out themselves, but innocent others as well.
 @somegoofyguy Unfair. At some point, all riders stop and wonder if it worth the risk. I've ridden on the street for 29 years and after every close call, I take a step back and wonder if it is time to sell off the bikes,,,,,,,,,a person isn't a wimp just because they think perhaps it is time to get off the bike.Â
I have been ridiculed for my habit of  focusing on the rear view mirror and leaving an "out" at stop signs and lights. This story is the reason why I do.
 @Getov Mylon Smart. Always having a escape route has saved me once or twice.....most recently from a WSP car when the trooper was looking at the computer screen in his car and failed to see the stopped traffic (and me on a bike) ahead.....I got out of the way, the Ranger in front of me, not so much. I would have been dead.Â
@Getov Mylon
I too do the same. It has saved me a number of times. I see them coming and am able to use the space to get over to the side and drive up the shoulder. I've ended up next to the car in front of me, while the idiot driver who failed to see us, has ended up nearly slamming into the car that had been in front of me. This save my son's life one time...huge SUV, rainy road, my son in the back, I was watching the SUV, I could see they were not going to stop, and I had enough room to get the H%*@ out of the way.
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And numerous other occasions. I tell my teens to do it too.
 @Getov Mylon Unfortunately, it's impossible to get the guy behind you to do the same...
 @lakeview LV, if I got someone riding my (backside), I leave even MORE space and that REALLY t's 'em off. I have had guys drive AROUND on the shoulder to fill that two+ car gap in front of me... to sit at the red light.
 @lakeview Expect stupidity. Never be disappointed. Some people say I am an expert on the subject. Two decades on the job and  NEVER have I cost the taxpayers money with a preventable accident.
 @Getov Mylon Yes, I think we have similar driving styles. :) I can only imagine what you must put up with in your job. Â
Also wondering why they weren't taken to United General Hospital, whose driveway is only a matter of a few short blocks from the accident??
 @Throbbinhood because UGH doesn't have the staff or capability to properly care for major trauma like that.
@tufa23 And SVH does? Not to my knowledge.
 @Throbbinhood  @tufa23 my thirty-four years in ems in Skagit county tells me that SVH is the hospital of choice for these things prior to shipping them to harborview... if they live long enough. It's a free country, though, so you're welcome to go with your knowledge.
Wow he drove directly into the back of them. 76 years old and driving drunk...
Simply out for a nice day's ride.... Nobody expects that a drunk 76 year old would take them out. Sincere condolences to the gentleman who lost his partner as a result of this dimwit.
The driver was drunk? Then he should be spending the rest of his life behind bars!
Throw the "book" at him. It's called manslaughter Mr Prosecutor!
slow down hombre