Dust storm causes fatal multi-vehicle crashes on US 395 near Connell, Washington

Two separate crashes occurred at the same location on US 395 north of Connell on Saturday, resulting in one death and five injuries, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The first crash was reported at 16:18 local time (LT) and involved two northbound vehicles at milepost 60. Troopers stated that a 2020 Kia Optima driven by a 64-year-old man from Pasco struck the rear of a 1992 Freightliner truck that was slowing for traffic.

The cause of the collision was listed as driving too fast during low visibility amid a dust storm. The driver of the Kia was injured, and his vehicle was destroyed. He was transported to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. The 53-year-old truck driver from Sandpoint, Idaho, was reported uninjured.

Just over two hours later, at 18:29 LT, a multi-vehicle chain-reaction crash occurred at the same location. Investigators reported that six northbound vehicles were involved, including three trucks and three passenger vehicles. The initial impact occurred when one vehicle struck another, triggering a series of rear-end collisions.

A 29-year-old man from Spokane was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash.

Four others were injured, including an 83-year-old woman from Spokane who was transported to Kadlec Regional Medical Center. Three additional individuals sustained minor injuries but were not hospitalized.

Northbound US 395 was fully closed following the crashes. Both incidents were attributed to excessive speed during a dust storm with limited visibility.

The dust storm was visible on the road from several miles away, according to a comment by Malena Grail on a post by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. She said the dust storm looked like a brush fire from a distance.

Another eyewitness described her experience of narrowly escaping the crash.

“We almost crashed right into it. Visibility was zero. I slowed down because all of a sudden it was dark, and I saw a car on the side of the road. Then bam—right in front of me, cars and trucks were on fire. I was just a few feet away by the time I stopped,” commented Jennifer Arms.

“My husband jumped out to see if he could help anybody, and then he and another driver started trying to get the cars coming up behind us to stop,” stated Arms.

“The cars were exploding, and the grass caught on fire. I started backing up to get out of there, praying everyone behind me would stop. We tried to warn people. We found a spot in the median to cross over to the southbound side. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I’m so thankful we were able to escape and pray that everyone made it out alive,” she added.