Omak woman, four men dead in two-car head-on crash

Washington State Patrol troopers and Douglas County Sheriff's deputies on the scene of fatal car crash on U.S. Highway 2, south of Orondo, Aug. 30. Photo courtesy: Source One News.

An Omak woman and four men were killed in a two-car crash on U.S. Highway 2, south of Orondo at 9:40 p.m., Sunday night.

The Washington State Patrol says that the car carrying the men crossed the centerline at milepost 137 and crashed into the oncoming car driven by the woman. Troopers have not identified the victims as of Monday morning.

"It looked like (the driver of) one vehicle was driving erratically and made a pass and struck another vehicle," said Douglas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Thomas Williams in describing the accident scene. "It's carnage\, it's pretty devastating to everyone on scene."

Travel on highways 2/97 has been dangerous, with several similar head-on accidents reported over the last few months.

"Look at least probably 10 seconds down the road to see what's up and coming," Williams advised drivers on local two-lane highways. "If you're going to make a pass, make sure you're absolutely clear that the oncoming lane is clear and that the pass is absolutely necessary."