South King County road a hotspot for fatal crashes

South King County doesn’t always get the best rep when it comes to traffic. Slow spots are inevitable during the morning and evening commute, but there’s one place that is a hot spot for deadly crashes.

INRIX Traffic Analyst Bob Pishue says traffic safety has become a major issue with a spike in fatal crashes post-COVID-19.

“Traffic safety is a big problem, not just in the Puget Sound region, but the whole state. Last year there were 750 fatalities on our state road network, that’s an 11% increase from 2021 and a 40% increase from 2019 pre-COVID,” he said.

Pishue looked into some trouble spots in South King County, and data shows 15th Avenue Northwest, or the ramp to get on the freeway in Kent, are trouble spots.

There were four fatal crashes resulting in five deaths over three years.

Pishue says some contributing factors to fatal crashes are drug and alcohol impairment. That was present in 30% of crashes, as well as speeding, which was also present in around 30% of crashes.

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