WA: Speeding Driver Loses Control & Crashes into the Yakima River

A lucky set of circumstances ends with a speeder behind bars and his crashed car safely in the Yakima River.

Speeder Crashes into River Near the Yakima River Bridge

Well, if you have to land somewhere after losing control at a high rate of speed, a river is probably the safest place to do it. A speeding driver on I-82 is lucky to be alive after losing control of his car near the Yakima River Bridge at milepost 82. The Washington State Patrol reports that after losing control, the car left the road and landed directly into the Yakima River. You can see from the photos released by the Washington State Patrol that the car's tracks run through the brownish brush and weeds on the river's edge and then disappear at the water's edge.

The Speeding Vehicle Landed in the Center of the Yakima River

The vehicle was not visible and submerged completely underwater. The driver did make it out of the car after the crash and miraculously was not injured. A small ripple wave hints at the location of the submerged vehicle from looking at the photos released by the Washington State Patrol. If that ripple wave is the location of the vehicle, it jumped a far distance into the river and was obviously traveling very fast. The Washington State Patrol did not identify the estimated speed and only described it as "a high rate prior to the collision." The driver was arrested and was held in custody while the crash was under investigation. It could have ended with the driver or someone else deceased, but luckily not today.