A 49-year-old Colville man died in a single-vehicle accident Monday morning near McKenna after the commercial truck he was driving rolled in the area of westbound state Route 702 and state Route 507. Speed and poor visibility were possible contributing factors to the accident, Washington State Patrol Trooper Guy Gill said.
Gill reported:
About 7:30 a.m., the commercial truck, hauling landfill wastewater runoff, was westbound on SR 702 when it drove through an intersection, then rolled, killing the driver, Mark A. Webb, and spilling about 3,000 gallons of wastewater. Visibility was poor due to early morning fog. Webb likely over-corrected once he noticed the intersection, causing the vehicle to roll.
It was not immediately clear if the spilled wastewater posed an environmental threat, although representatives of the state Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were on site, Gill said.
Traffic was being rerouted in the area, although traffic backups were minimal and both SR 702 and SR 507 were set to reopen soon after Monday’s incident, Gill said. The driver’s stepson was following his father in a similar vehicle, he said.
“This is a very tragic scenario for that family,” Gill said, adding that the stepson tried to save the man, but nothing could be done. “They were working hard on this Labor Day, trying to make a living and now they have to deal with something like this.”
rboone@theolympian.com360-754-5403
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