Ellensburg, WA : Woman killed in crash near Cle Elum on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

A Central Washington University professor was killed and two people were injured Tuesday in one of many crashes on Interstate 90 where bad weather closed the highway several times.

Catherine L. Bertelson, 63, died Tuesday morning when her westbound pickup struck the guardrail, rolled and landed upside down on the guardrail about 8 miles east of Cle Elum shortly after 6 a.m., according to the Washington State Patrol.

Bertelson, a professor at CWU’s Department of Curriculum, Supervision and Educational Leadership, died at the scene. Two passengers — Christopher B. Kraus and Tessa Seimears, both 21-year-old Ellensburg residents — were injured and taken to KVH Hospital in Ellensburg. Seimears was initially listed in critical condition before being transferred to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, where she was being evaluated Tuesday evening. Krause was treated and released.

Investigators blamed the crash on speed too fast for road conditions, which included freezing temperatures and a layer of ice on the highway.

Numerous other crashes were reported Tuesday morning and afternoon, forcing the closure of the Snoqualmie Pass area twice.

No injuries were reported when a semi rolled atop a pickup around 8 a.m. near I-90’s Indian John Hill rest stop, Washington State trooper Brian Moore said. The pickup’s occupants lost control of their vehicle and saw the semi losing control in front of them. They were able to get out of the pickup and ran up the hill before the semi landed on their pickup, Moore said.

In addition, an ambulance that was transferring a pediatric patient to Seattle rolled over when it attempted to avoid the semi crash soon after, he said. The occupants suffered minor injuries.

Source :
Ellensburg woman killed in crash near Cle Elum; crashes, weather close Snoqualmie Pass