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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Highway 97 crash kills one, injures dozens

Driver may have fallen asleep, officials say

This Washington State Patrol photo shows the fatal wreckage of a school bus, box truck and a car Thursday near Orondo, Wash. The car’s driver was killed. (Associated Press)

ORONDO, Wash. – A truck driver apparently fell asleep Thursday before his vehicle crossed the center line of a rural Washington highway and collided with a car and a school bus, killing the car driver and sending dozens of students to the hospital for evaluation, the Washington State Patrol said.

“We do suspect the driver fell asleep,” Trooper Darren Wright said.

Just over a year ago, the driver of the large box truck, identified as Kenneth Hahn, 54, of Yakima, was cited for crossing the center line in an injury collision in the same area, the State Patrol said.

Authorities said the car driver, Carmela Cuellar Morales, 22, of Orondo, died at the scene. A 12-year-old female passenger in her car was injured and taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee. Hospital spokeswoman Steph Grubich said the child was treated and released.

Forty-three students taken to the hospital after the bus crashed were sent home after evaluation and treatment if needed, authorities said.

The truck driver, a 36-year-old male passenger in the truck and the driver of the Orondo School District bus, identified as Pamela Robertson, 53, of Orondo, were reported in satisfactory condition Thursday night at the hospital.

With a voluntary blood sample from the truck driver, investigators will check for any evidence that alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash, Wright said.

“When the truck crashed the bus, I (fell) and the kids fell out of the seats,” 6-year-old Jasmine Gaona told KOMO-TV of Seattle.

Hospital chief nursing officer Tracey Kasnic told KOMO there were “a few fractures” but mostly “bumps, bruises and lacerations.”

The crash occurred about 8 a.m. on Highway 97, about 5 miles north of the small community of Orondo.