WSU student killed, 4 hurt in crash on icy I-90 near Ellensburg
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - An 18-year-old Washington State University student from Lake Forest Park was killed and four other WSU students were injured Saturday morning when the vehicle they were riding in hit a patch of ice and rolled over on Interstate 90, the Washington State Patrol reported.
State troopers responded to the scene, on I-90 about 17 miles east of Ellensburg, at about 10:40 a.m. after receiving a report of a serious crash.
Arriving at the scene, they found a black 2003 Ford Escape lying on its side off the freeway.
One of the vehicle's five occupants, later identified as Austin M. Scott, 18, of Lake Forest Park, was found dead at the scene. The vehicle's four other occupants were injured.
All five crash victims were WSU students in a ride-share program heading home for the holidays.
An investigation found that the Escape had been heading west on I-90 at speeds too fast for the icy conditions. The driver, a 19-year-old Kent woman, lost control of the vehicle and it veered off the roadway to the left, rolling over and landing on its side.
The driver and three passengers - an 18-year-old Kent woman, a 20-year-old Poulsbo woman and an 18-year-old Omak man - were taken to Kittitas Valley Hospital. The 18-year-old Omak was later taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of more serious injuries.
Alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the accident.
The crash remains under investigation.
State troopers responded to the scene, on I-90 about 17 miles east of Ellensburg, at about 10:40 a.m. after receiving a report of a serious crash.
Arriving at the scene, they found a black 2003 Ford Escape lying on its side off the freeway.
One of the vehicle's five occupants, later identified as Austin M. Scott, 18, of Lake Forest Park, was found dead at the scene. The vehicle's four other occupants were injured.
All five crash victims were WSU students in a ride-share program heading home for the holidays.
An investigation found that the Escape had been heading west on I-90 at speeds too fast for the icy conditions. The driver, a 19-year-old Kent woman, lost control of the vehicle and it veered off the roadway to the left, rolling over and landing on its side.
The driver and three passengers - an 18-year-old Kent woman, a 20-year-old Poulsbo woman and an 18-year-old Omak man - were taken to Kittitas Valley Hospital. The 18-year-old Omak was later taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of more serious injuries.
Alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the accident.
The crash remains under investigation.
I am so sad to hear this. Prayers to the students injured for healing, and prayers for the student killed. Things can happen so fast. Blessings and prayers. My thoughts go out to those involved and their families.
I have a 20 year old daughter and her friend who are WSU students. They made this trip yesterday. They were fortunate that they were only stuck on the pass for 2 hours. They had a friend who were 2 cars behind them who pulled over and helped them put chains on then followed them over the pass til it was clear, and helped take the chains off. It shows true Cougar friendship!! Even though some say that this tragedy was the result of reckless driving, it is still a tragedy that young lives had to suffer! Thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families!!
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Real sad when this stuff happens. Gotta be careful on the snowy and icy roads folks. Better a few minutes late than dead.
This is so bizarre to hear, since I headed home just a day earlier and there wasn't a trace of ice on the roads!Â
I am very sad to hear this. I have driven the Pass fo rover 40 years in all kinds o fweather, knowing the need for safety and slowness. I have often been passed by drivers or tailgated. It is crucial to go slow in mist and fog on partly snow covered roads. I also, am a Coug. My best friend was killed going back to WSU in 1968 going around a slippery curve. Youth is so precious.
My son and friend drove the same route on Friday from Pullman and had a spin out near Ellensburg. In talking with them, they too were driving too fast for rode conditions.  The car passing them driven by a WSU student ( again,  too fast for rode conditions) flipped over on its hood. Luckily, my son and friend were stopped, ran over to the car, and were able to pull the student out of her car. She was in shock but appeared ok. Ambulance was called. My heart goes out to the Scott family. You remain in my thoughts and prayers.
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Whenever I have to drive on I 90 or highway 2 in the winter I drive slow. There is always some joker out there that tail gates then passes me (while flipping me off) on the icy road. More than once I pass them a little farther down because they spun out and in a ditch or rolled over. Then they blame it on everything except for themselves.
Please slow down. Always worried about my daughter driving back and forth. Ice, deer etc.
@Klondiko Slowing down would definitely help the survival rate but black ice is still so treacherous. Years ago I was traveling only 25-30 miles an hour when I hit black ice and my van did a 180, slid clear across the road (thank God there was no oncoming traffic), hit a barrier on that side and slid back and hit the barrier on the other side. Even though I was belted up, my head and shoulder slammed into the side of my car hard enough to cause a shoulder separation and light concussion. I think ice is one of the scariest things out there. I pray your daughter stays safe. My son went to Central and I really worried about him driving the pass to get back and forth.
I just cannot live without my outside temperature devices in my vehicles. For $15 or a little more,these temperature gauges can and will save you life.They can be bought at any auto parts store .Wal Mart..etc.. it will tell you what the outside air temp is.. It would be up to the operator of the vehicle to determine if its cold enough for ice to be on the roadway.Traveling 70 mph in foggy, misty conditions with an outside air temp of 27 degrees, is just plain foolish!
My heart breaks for this family. As a mom who waited for her son to come home the last few years, I cannot imagine. As a Coug, I have made that trip many many times and know it can be dangerous, and I think of travelling Cougs this time of year. So sorry we lost a Coug,  so sorry the Scott's lost their son.Â
I drove this section of I90 a half hour before this accident occurred. The road was bare, air temp was 27 degrees, foggy with light mist. Traffic was moving at the speed limit - 70 mph. I didn't feel any sign of ice on the road. There was no indication that 4wd was needed. I passed a state DOT truck spreading salt on the hwy as I drove home in the other direction, passing buy the accident scene in the other lanes. I think this was a patch of isolated black ice.
 @Jon-Lars Sorenson The give away here? foggy with a light mist.. with an air temp of 27 degrees,,the road can and will ice up in a matter of minutes..just because you made it through doesn't mean a half hour later there wasn't a build up of ice on the road,,it most likely wasn't an isolated patch of black ice..the road iced up..its winter
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 @Whitehawk  @Jon-Lars Sorenson Whitehawk, please note that I drove past the accident scene in the other direction just after the accident, before the first responders arrived. Road conditions were as I described above. That section of I90 rises to crest Ryegrass summit. Weather in there is very localized.This is my regular commute.
It was a patch of black ice.
 @Jon-Lars Sorenson  @Whitehawk My wife was driving by the accident west-bound I-90. She said the shoulders had a lot of slush on it. She also said the aide vehicle was trying to get people to slow down and they did not until they got close to the accident. My prayers go out to these families.
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It is always sad when people die before their time. To the family of Austin Scott.... I juswanted you to know that during all this talk and prayers for the shooting victims, someone cares that you are experiencing a tragedy of your own. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
It would be good if we had a training field for driving in ice & snow. We might lose fewer people that way. Once a person loses control because of hitting ice unexpectedly it'll change your whole outlook on it. I've still never forgotten my first experience driving and suddenly I was going back the way I came and then just as suddenly sideways in the road! Fortunately, my dad was by my side and said 'that can happen, here's what you do'. I'm pretty sure HE was already aware of the possibility and had taken note of the lack of traffic for this perfect learning experience.
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I'm sure people get annoyed at me for driving 10 under the speed limit (and possibly slower), but by gum, I GET there in one piece!
 @Commenter87643 I drive slower too, there is nothing that is too important to not arrive safely.
Btw, I mean my first experience driving on slippery roads.
As a current WSU student who just made that exact drive yesterday, I can honestly say that arriving home earlier is never important enough to warrant reckless driving. That being said however, I will certainly call myself out for going way too fast basically the entire way. I was fortunate enough to have been traveling with minimal traffic and better weather conditions, but I have no doubt that had I been making the trip today instead of Friday, I would have likely ended up in the same horrifying manner. It's absolutely disillusioning to realize just how dangerous that drive can be. I can guarantee I will be driving much more cautiously upon returning in January. I only wish that it wouldn't require the death of a possible classmate for people, myself included, to realize how much is on the line. Instead, all I can do is offer my most heartfelt condolences to the family of all the affected students.
So sorry for my friend who lost her son in this accident. I'm not from this area, but wish everyone who do drive it, take it slow and steady. What does it matter if you're going to get to your destination 5 or 10 minutes later.
I've been in situations where moving at all was too fast for conditions, but we do see this time and time again, especially with AWD vehicles and SUV's in particular. It's just so easy to get moving that people forget they still can't stop or turn much (if any) better than a regular car AND they have the disadvantage of the high center of gravity. I also see WAY too many people driving around in the Winter with nearly bald tires. If you're driving over the passes regularly, some good studless snow/ice tires should be a no brainer. I was on I-90 once when I was driving truck and some idiot passed me in an Explorer and spun out into the median. They were lucky they didn't flip over or get stuck there, but what did they do? They got back on the highway and went speeding past again. Some people just never learn...
A friend saw 6 rollover crashes between Ellensburg and Cle Elum today.......All six were 4WD SUV's........What's the answer? Work with me on this?
 @Lake Cle Elum I think it's just as all the comments here have been citing, those driving 4WD SUVs have a false sense of security and just drive too fast. So I think the answer here is 1) slow down, 2) don't get the attitude that you're invincible on ice and snow because of 4WD, 3) make sure your tires have good tread. As a professional driver, I too have witnessed it too many times. I've seen it with all ages and genders but young males seem to be the worse when it comes to aggressive driving on ice.Â
Good winter tires are cheap insurance against these types of accidents.
An outside temp sensor is vital if you travel Eastern Washington during the Winter. Mine has proved itself many times, as I've watched spin outs & rollovers happen after SUV's have passed me as I pick a safe speed for conditions.
Ice can be so hard to predict sometimes. It's certainly that time of the year to slow it down. I have taken 10 hours to get to Spokane, but I made it.
What an unfortunate accident. My heart goes out those who are injured and the family of the one who died.
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What a terrible tragedy for the families, as the students were heading home. Â Driving too fast for the conditions. It's like a broken record up here. Â Is a 19 Â year old really qualified to drive in those conditions?Â
 @DT I don't think age has anything to do with qualifications to drive in those type of conditions. I know of quite a few older adults who shouldn't be on the road when it is icy/snowy.
Just drove this stretch of road from WSU today. Â Heartbreaking. Â As for the comment below...19 year olds brains aren't fully developed and they don't have the experiences that "we", meaning older adults, do. Â Â It was a tragic accident and a result of a young driver making a mistake which likely took the life of her friend. Â Condolences to the family of the young man killed. Â As a parent of a WSU student I know I'm not alone when I say my prayers for a safe trip home every time they make that journey. Â Today was particularly treacherous and many people were driving at unsafe speeds, not just 19 year olds.
@NBmom I've seen it too. Too many people without the experiance and those who mistakenly feel that the AWD or 4WD badge on their vehicle somehow makes them a better driver in bad conditions.
 @NBmom My condolences also to the family and friends of all involved. The driver must be feeling horrible enough right now knowing that a passenger has died. I agree that those in that age group just don't have the experience behind the wheel to always be prudent drivers in those conditions. I'm a CWSC graduate and made the trek over Snoqualmie Pass from Ellensburg dozens of times decades and decades ago. I remember thinking I could go a lot faster than was safe. It wasn't until many years later that I finally realized that I was just plain lucky driving at those speeds on compact snow without having a catastrophic accident. It sounds as if she was driving a 4x4 too and that gives a lot of folks an invincible feeling no matter what the age. We all know that most vehicles we do see in ditches that have spun off the roadway are AWD or 4x4s because they drive as if they can go faster than those without it and are surprised when they lose control and slide off the road.  Most have to experience a pretty bad spin out before they'll slow down on ice. Please, everybody, slow it down a little when there is compact snow and ice on the road.Â
No Drugs or Alcohol? How about Brains? Charge her with Manslaughter!
 @intomyself You are an idiot! The article never states how fast the car was going, so the driver could have been traveling at a reasonable speed. They will always say someone was driving too fast for conditions if there is an accident. They could have been going 20mph under the limit. I'm a WSU alum and it's not an easy drive, ever. My prayers go out to the driver and Austin's family.
 @intomyself Can I meet you? You are perfect and have never screwed up... you must be pretty righteous! Seriously, we've all screwed up and done stupid things. Some of us have been lucky/ blessed and others have had to learn hard lessons. Have some compassion!
 @intomyself some people just dont really know how bad ice can get. no matter what sort of ideas i throw at you, that was a stupid comment of yours. i can tell (or would highly assume) that you are an older person more experienced in snowy icyweather ... or perhaps someone that used to live in a place that gets lots of snow and ice.
 @intomyself how can you know what happened by what is in this story?  it sounds like college kids coming home for winter break. i hope the others are ok.