General Forum
Be safe over the holidays. 6 replies
Another friend of mine died early this morning driving under the influence. The state patrol haven't released yet whether he was actually intoxicated or not, but we all around here already know.. Sterling Kruger, 22 years old, same age as my last friend who died in August of this year. Except Sterling took two innocent people with him in a head-on collision.
Use these as a reminder that the people involved aren't the only victims in this type of situation, and think before you act. Not only should you look after yourself, but watch out for other crazies on the road as well.
KREM 2 news:
SPOKANE -- Three people are dead after a wrong way, head- on collision on an I-90 on-ramp at Highway 2 overnight.
It happened just after 2:00 a.m. Thursday, and closed all eastbound lanes of Highway 2 on the I-90 on-ramp for several hours.
Police say 22 year old Sterling Kruger, of Davenport, was driving the wrong direction on I-90 at a high speed then began to exit on the Highway 2 on-ramp still going the wrong way. That's when he smashed into an on-coming car, traveling the correct direction, and flipped.
61 year old James Bolton was driving the car that was hit with passenger 47 year old Trina Erickson, both from Spokane Valley.
All three people died on the scene. There were no survivors. Police are now working to determine whether drugs or alcohol were involved. Both Bolton and Erickson were wearing their seat belts; Kruger was not.
Crews cleared the scene just before 6:00 a.m., but say they will continue their investigation Thursday morning when there is more light.
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KXLY news:
SPOKANE -- A wrong-way driver going an estimated 90 miles-per-hour up the on-ramp from Highway 2 to Eastbound I-90 slammed head-on into a car carrying two people, killing everyone.
At about 2:15 a.m. Thursday a Washington State Patrol Trooper was making a DUI stop in the Westbound lanes of I-90 on Sunset Hill when he spotted the wrong-way driver in the eastbound lanes.
“There was a trooper who was on a traffic stop on the Sunset Hill,†WSP Trooper Jeff Sevigney said. “That trooper did hear that vehicle go by and it actually startled him.â€
The trooper estimated the driver, identified later as 22-year-old Sterling Kruger of Davenport, was going about 90 miles-per-hour when he entered the on-ramp that leads people from State Route 2 to Eastbound I-90.
“You just assume everybody is going the right direction out here on the Interstate and then you have somebody approaching you at that speed there's really nothing they could do,†Sevigney said.
James Bolton, 61, and Trina Erickson, 47, both from Spokane Valley, were driving up the ramp in their Dodge Stratus when Kruger crashed his Honda head-on into their car. The combined speed of the vehicles in the collision was more than 100 miles an hour.
“That vehicle came up the ramp here which is the Highway 2 ramp and there was a vehicle heading down this ramp that was going to get on eastbound I-90 and they collided head on,†Trooper Troy Briggs said.
All three were killed in the crash. It took first responders two hours to free the victims from the wreckage.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating reports that Kruger had been drinking in a downtown Spokane bar earlier in the evening.
Troopers have learned moments before the crash someone reported Kruger's reckless driving to police and that Kruger may have been involved in a minor crash in the bar's parking lot.
Detectives don't know if Kruger was under the influence because he was never taken to the hospital. Blood samples will be taken at his autopsy and submitted to the State Patrol Crime Lab for analysis.
Family members of Tina Erickson and James Bolton say the couple were on their way home from the Northern Quest Casino when Kruger collided with their vehicle. Family members indicated that neither of them drink alcohol.
Erickson graduated from West Valley High School and worked at Inland Imaging while Bolton was a custodian at Evergreen Middle School and was originally from Tennessee.
“She was a very loving person,†Marie Erickson said of her daughter Trina. “She'd try to help anybody, she's take a stranger in off the street to help them, she's just a good lady that's all I can say.â€
Kruger, 22, was married, had recently been evicted from his Spokane Valley apartment and was living in Davenport. A records search indicates only one prior arrest, a speeding ticket for going 78 in a 60 mile-per-hour zone.
Use these as a reminder that the people involved aren't the only victims in this type of situation, and think before you act. Not only should you look after yourself, but watch out for other crazies on the road as well.
KREM 2 news:
SPOKANE -- Three people are dead after a wrong way, head- on collision on an I-90 on-ramp at Highway 2 overnight.
It happened just after 2:00 a.m. Thursday, and closed all eastbound lanes of Highway 2 on the I-90 on-ramp for several hours.
Police say 22 year old Sterling Kruger, of Davenport, was driving the wrong direction on I-90 at a high speed then began to exit on the Highway 2 on-ramp still going the wrong way. That's when he smashed into an on-coming car, traveling the correct direction, and flipped.
61 year old James Bolton was driving the car that was hit with passenger 47 year old Trina Erickson, both from Spokane Valley.
All three people died on the scene. There were no survivors. Police are now working to determine whether drugs or alcohol were involved. Both Bolton and Erickson were wearing their seat belts; Kruger was not.
Crews cleared the scene just before 6:00 a.m., but say they will continue their investigation Thursday morning when there is more light.
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KXLY news:
SPOKANE -- A wrong-way driver going an estimated 90 miles-per-hour up the on-ramp from Highway 2 to Eastbound I-90 slammed head-on into a car carrying two people, killing everyone.
At about 2:15 a.m. Thursday a Washington State Patrol Trooper was making a DUI stop in the Westbound lanes of I-90 on Sunset Hill when he spotted the wrong-way driver in the eastbound lanes.
“There was a trooper who was on a traffic stop on the Sunset Hill,†WSP Trooper Jeff Sevigney said. “That trooper did hear that vehicle go by and it actually startled him.â€
The trooper estimated the driver, identified later as 22-year-old Sterling Kruger of Davenport, was going about 90 miles-per-hour when he entered the on-ramp that leads people from State Route 2 to Eastbound I-90.
“You just assume everybody is going the right direction out here on the Interstate and then you have somebody approaching you at that speed there's really nothing they could do,†Sevigney said.
James Bolton, 61, and Trina Erickson, 47, both from Spokane Valley, were driving up the ramp in their Dodge Stratus when Kruger crashed his Honda head-on into their car. The combined speed of the vehicles in the collision was more than 100 miles an hour.
“That vehicle came up the ramp here which is the Highway 2 ramp and there was a vehicle heading down this ramp that was going to get on eastbound I-90 and they collided head on,†Trooper Troy Briggs said.
All three were killed in the crash. It took first responders two hours to free the victims from the wreckage.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating reports that Kruger had been drinking in a downtown Spokane bar earlier in the evening.
Troopers have learned moments before the crash someone reported Kruger's reckless driving to police and that Kruger may have been involved in a minor crash in the bar's parking lot.
Detectives don't know if Kruger was under the influence because he was never taken to the hospital. Blood samples will be taken at his autopsy and submitted to the State Patrol Crime Lab for analysis.
Family members of Tina Erickson and James Bolton say the couple were on their way home from the Northern Quest Casino when Kruger collided with their vehicle. Family members indicated that neither of them drink alcohol.
Erickson graduated from West Valley High School and worked at Inland Imaging while Bolton was a custodian at Evergreen Middle School and was originally from Tennessee.
“She was a very loving person,†Marie Erickson said of her daughter Trina. “She'd try to help anybody, she's take a stranger in off the street to help them, she's just a good lady that's all I can say.â€
Kruger, 22, was married, had recently been evicted from his Spokane Valley apartment and was living in Davenport. A records search indicates only one prior arrest, a speeding ticket for going 78 in a 60 mile-per-hour zone.
Ill second this... a friend of mine pasted away Monday Dec.14. She was 19 years of age, and involved in a major accident. No seat belt was worn, and there was a possibility of driving under the influence. Please be safe.....
be more careful everyone X_X
Don't drink and drive. If you plan on drinking, have a ride....
Y'all listen to what Stoutn says!
Be safe.
Be safe.
I'm an advocate towards staying at the location you party at, or taking a taxi.
It's not just your own actions that can lead to deaths. Having quick reactions and thinking are important when others may not be so responsible as to not drink and drive. Creeping home 10 mph under the limit might keep you from hitting someone else, but can you think and react quick enough to avoid another drunk driver in the wrong lane? Same goes for those who are stone cold sober - how often do you glance away from the car in front of you, to the opposite lane?