Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Fatal collision occurred near Sprague
SPRAGUE – A Montana traveler was killed in a Friday afternoon crash about two miles east of the city along Interstate 90.
Kenneth H. Tooley, 69, of Libby, Mont., died after his 2001 Ford F150 pickup went over an embankment about 3:51 p.m., the Washington State Patrol reported.
Tooley was westbound on Interstate 90 when he lost control of his pickup, went over an embankment and struck eastbound vehicle, the patrol said.
The driver of the eastbound vehicle, a 2020 Peterbilt truck and utility trailer, was also injured. Robert L. Marks, 57, of Hull, Iowa, was transported to a Spokane medical center, the patrol said.
The initial patrol report said it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
Both drivers were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, the patrol said.
The right lane of the eastbound lane was closed for more than six hours; it reopened at about 11:18 p.m., the state Department of Transportation reported.
The fatal crash was one of two that hindered traffic near Sprague over the weekend.
In an unrelated crash at about 5:10 p.m. Friday night, two vehicles collided near Milepost 237, about eight miles west of Sprague.
In that incident, Blake A. Driesen, 23, hometown not reported, failed to slow for other traffic on the interstate, the patrol reported.
Driesen’s 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis rear-ended a 2018 Toyota Rav4 driven by Joseph B. Lykins, 69, hometown not reported, the patrol said.
Lykins was stopped in the left lane for traffic, the patrol reported, citing the cause of the crash as failure to yield.
Driesen was not injured, but his passenger, Kylee M. Orestad, 17, hometown not reported, was transported to a Spokane hospital, the patrol said.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in that crash, the patrol reported, adding both drivers and the passenger were wearing seatbelts.
Roger Harnack is owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. An award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher who grew up in Eastern Washington, he's one of only two Washington state journalists ever to receive the international Golden Quill for editorial/commentary writing. Roger is committed to preserving local media, and along with it, a local voice for Eastern Washington.
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