ARLINGTON — A 28-year-old Arlington woman was killed Monday morning when an eastbound logging truck crossed the center line on State Route 530 and struck her westbound vehicle, the Washington State Patrol released Tuesday.
The collision happened at 7:13 a.m. near milepost 28, just south of 294th Street Northeast in rural Snohomish County, about eight miles east of Arlington on the two-lane highway that links the city with Darrington and Oso.
Lauren M. Kuntz was driving a gray 2024 Toyota RAV4 westbound when it was hit by the logging truck traveling eastbound crossed the center line, WSP reported. The truck came to rest partly blocking the westbound lanes; the SUV ended up in the westbound ditch.
Kuntz was taken to Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, where she was pronounced dead. The driver of the logging truck, a 24-year-old male of Snohomish, was not injured.
The Kenworth W900 tractor, attached to the truck, was listed as totaled along with the RAV4. WSP said neither drugs nor alcohol were involved in the incident and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Both directions of SR 530 were closed for nearly eight hours. WSDOT crews turned traffic around at 294th Street NE and later allowed brief alternating one-way travel before the highway fully reopened around 3:15 p.m. Backups formed in Arlington, and drivers were directed to SR 9 or the Mountain Loop Highway as alternatives.
The strip of SR 530, called Arlington-Darrington Road, in the local area is a rural two-lane route that regularly carries logging trucks serving timber operations in the North Cascades foothills.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
