Two Portland residents died Wednesday after a head-on crash on state Highway 14 just east of Washougal.
Five people were involved in the noon crash, which happened a few hundred yards east of Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, said Cliff Free, division chief of Emergency Medical Services at the Camas-Washougal Fire Department.
Traffic ahead of a westbound 2002 Toyota Tacoma pickup was stopped behind a hay truck that was waiting to turn left near Milepost 19. The Toyota crossed the center line and struck a 2015 Kia Soul head-on in the eastbound lanes, said Washington State Patrol Lt. Jason Linn.
Two passengers sitting in the back of the Kia died at the scene of the crash: Anna Wichman, 29, of Portland and a 25-year-old Portland man whose name was not released because his family hadn’t yet been notified.
Firefighters used tools to cut the three surviving people out of the vehicles, Free said. The driver of the Kia, Jesikah Clausen, 25, and her front passenger Sean Knudeson, 32, both of Portland, were transported by ambulance to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. The pickup driver, 91-year-old Robert Snider of Vancouver, also was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest.
Wednesday evening, Snider and Knudeson were in critical condition and Clausen was in satisfactory condition, according to hospital staff at PeaceHealth Southwest.
This stretch of the highway is a two-lane road, said Sgt. Jason Cuthbert of Washington State Patrol. It doesn’t appear drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, and everyone was wearing a seat belt.
East County Fire & Rescue and the Washougal Police Department also responded to the crash.
All lanes of the highway were closed near Steigerwald and traffic was detoured until about 2:45 p.m.
This is the second fatal head-on collision to happen in less than a week on state Highway 14 in that area. On Saturday night, a minivan and a pickup collided near Milepost 33 — a crash that resulted in four deaths. The pickup, driven by Heath T. Martin, 24, of North Bonneville, crossed the center line and crashed head-on with a minivan carrying five members of the Goy family of Kent, the State Patrol said.
The Goy family was returning from a vacation in the Columbia River Gorge.
Martin, as well as Anatoliy Goy, 47, and Daniel Goy, 7, died at the scene of the crash. Alexander, 9, Andrey, 11, and Mariya Goy, 49, were taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. Alexander Goy was taken off of life support on Monday and died at the hospital.
The Goy family is raising money online for memorial services and medical costs. For more information, visit www.gofundme.com/GoyMemorialFund.
