Police Department

Serious Injury Crash Closes Upriver Drive

Cpl. Teresa Fuller

Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 9:27 p.m.

A serious injury crash closed Upriver Drive this evening from Crestline to Greene for several hours while Major Crimes Collision Investigators processed the scene. The driver of pickup truck going westbound on Upriver crossed into the eastbound lanes colliding with an SUV going eastbound. Once the driver of the truck is released from the hospital, he will face charges for Vehicular Assault.

Tonight, November 13, 2018, just after 5:30pm, the driver of a truck headed westbound on Upriver Drive crossed over the center line into the eastbound lanes. Another driver in an SUV was eastbound on Upriver, saw the oncoming truck but was unable to avoid the head-on crash which happened just east of Haven. A passenger in the truck sustained broken bones during the collision. The driver of the SUV was treated and released at the scene.

The driver of the truck is being treated at an area hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Once released, he’ll be facing charges for Vehicular Assault as alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash. His name will be released once charges are filed.

From 2012 to 2014, impaired drivers were involved in over half (56%) of Washington state’s 756 fatality crashes. In October of 2017, SPD added two full-time Impaired Driving Enforcement Officers to SPD’s Traffic unit. Since they’ve been on the streets, DUI arrests for our department have more than doubled; from 295 in 2017 to 615 as of October of this year. Even more telling, Washington State Patrol’s DUI arrest numbers in the Spokane area have not dropped with the increase in arrests coming from SPD. With the holiday season quickly approaching, please be responsible and make sure you have a safe and sober ride home.

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