Incident Response

Posted 11/20/07

Teamwork Credited with Clearing SR 6 Collision Quickly

Just after 3:30 p.m. on November 5, Washington State Patrol (WSP) received a report of a two-car injury collision on State Route 6 at Spooner Road, approximately seven miles west of Chehalis in Lewis County. One of the cars involved was totaled and the other was disabled. Both were impeding traffic on westbound SR 6.

WSP requested assistance from WSDOT's Incident Responder Ryan Hottell, who arrived on the scene at 4:03 p.m. While fire crews flagged traffic at the intersection, Hottell quickly installed warning signs notifying motorists of the collision ahead. Tow trucks arrived at 4:16 p.m. as ambulance crews aided the drivers involved in the collision. The highway was cleared and reopened at 4:40 p.m., only one hour after the incident was initially reported. Teamwork and coordination among the various agencies was instrumental in clearing this incident quickly.

Wednesday, November 14, started out busy for WSDOT's Olympic Region. The early morning commute consisted of several collisions on SR 512 and an overturned vehicle on SR 16 in Pierce County. And to the surprise of one gravel-truck driver, the day got rockier from there.

At 9:45 a.m., 25 cubic-yards of gravel spilled onto the roadway when a truck overturned, blocking both directions of SR 162 in Sumner. WSDOT's Incident Response (IR) assisted Washington State Patrol with traffic control. Once a single-lane of travel opened, IR team members Kathy Vatter, Willie Ramsey and Mike Evans helped out by flagging traffic. Backups extended for up to one and one half miles in each direction. Meanwhile, Maintenance crew members worked to get the gravel up off of the roadway. At 1:45 p.m., the roadway was completely reopened to traffic.

New Twist on on 'Rubber Meets Road'

On Sunday, November 4, an overturned semi created a dramatic closure of the ramp from southbound I-5 to the Port of Tacoma Road in Tacoma. The position of the overturned semi, which was transporting tires for vehicles, was such that the entire ramp had to remain closed until Incident Response members Kathy Vatter and Willie Ramsey could set up traffic control devices that safely directed traffic around the semi. Under traffic, the truck's load was transferred from one semi to another. Once that work was completed, the ramp was reclosed for about 90 minutes while the semi was righted and removed from the site