Christmas Eve collision in Kent seriously injurs three; DUI suspected

A head-on collision Christmas Eve in Kent sent a total of six people to the hospital, including three with serious injuries, due to an allegedly drunk driver crossing over the center line.

At 7:48 p.m. Dec. 24, emergency responders were alerted to an accident near the intersection of Kent Des Moines Road and Military Road South. When units arrived, they found that a pickup truck and an SUV were involved in a head-on collision, with heavy damage to both vehicles.

“Both vehicles were heavily damaged from the high speed impact and blocked all the west bound lanes of KDM,” a press release from the Kent Fire Department stated.

According to Trooper Cliff Pratt, spokesperson Washington State Police, a Dodge Durango SUV traveling west on State Route 516 crossed the center line and struck an oncoming Toyota Tacoma truck carrying four people.

Responders found a total of six people in the two vehicles and all were transported to local hospitals, three of whom sustaining what Pratt called "serious, but not critical" injuries to their lower extremities.

The three seriously injured people – two women and one man – were treated an transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The others were transported by ambulance to area hospitals. All were adults.

According to Kent Fire, a total of nine firefighters and seven paramedics responded to the call.

Pratt said one of the drivers, whose name has not yet been released, would likely be charged with four counts of vehicular assault, a gross misdemeanor.

Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in jail and a fine of $10,000.

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