Hedline: Grange Road collision sends Brewster man to Harborview

Roberto Rodriguez Duran, 50, suffered broken bones and a punctured lung when he attempted to cross the highway onto Brewster Grange Road while traveling northbound on the shoulder of SR 97 and was struck by a van driven by Channa Dick, 36, of Brewster.

According to the official Washington State Patrol accident report Rodriguez Duran was at the wheel of a John Deere tractor at about 2 p.m. near milepost 259 on the shoulder of SR 97 and Dick, driving a 1997 Dodge Caravan with four passengers aboard was traveling in the same direction behind Rodriguez Duran.

The WSP report said Rodriguez Duran turned out into the northbound lane attempting to cross onto Brewster Grange Road failing to yield the right of way for the van. Dick attempted to avoid a collision by steering into the oncoming lane but struck the left side of the tractor. The tractor rolled over and trapped Rodriguez beneath it in the center turn lane while the van came to rest in the southbound lane facing north.

Rodriguez Duran was transported to Three Rivers Hospital where he was stabilized before being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. As of Friday, Sept. 4, sources at Harborview reported that Rodriguez Duran was in satisfactory condition.

No injuries were reported to any of the van’s occupants.

WSDOT upgrade

The section of SR 97 where the accident occurred was upgraded by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) in the summer of 2018. Representatives of WSDOT’s North Central office in Wenatchee addressed the Brewster city council on July 2018 to advise that the department intended to improve the eighth-mile section of SR 97 based on the collision history there.

“We’ve had five reportable crashes, reportable meaning there was an injury or property damage over $1,000,” said WSDOT representative Brian Pearson. “Three of those incidents involved vehicles trying to pass another vehicle attempting a left turn.”

The following month WSDOT crews began a two-week project to add a designated two-way left turn lane at the Brewster Grange Road intersection and so reduce the hazard to trucks turning into the fruit warehouse facilities on the south side of the highway. The project also narrowed the traffic lanes from 12 to 11 feet and reduced the eight-foot road shoulders to four feet to make room for the turn lane. To further reduce the potential for collisions, the speed limit on the 1.18-mile stretch of highway on either end of the two way left turn lane coming into the south city limits was reduced from 60 miles per hour to 50 mph.