No immediate plans for road changes despite multiple fatal crashes recently along Highway 395

STEVENS COUNTY, Wash. - The community is asking what can be done to stop more fatal crashes along Highway 395.

Within the past month, two different crashes claimed the lives of two people along the same stretch of the highway seven miles south of Chewelah.

The victims were a Kettle Falls man and a six-month-old baby. Each crash was caused by unique circumstances.

The first crash claimed the life of the baby girl when the vehicle she was in was rear-ended.

RELATED: Baby killed in crash south of Chewelah

The second crash less than a mile away and a month later happened when the vehicle the Kettle Falls man was in veered into oncoming traffic and crashed into a semi truck.

Washington Department of Transportation's Ryan Overton said the most prevalent factor seen across eastern Washington causing these crashes is the drivers.

"In this case, we look at the data and what it was showing was driver behavior," Overton said.

Overton said 95-99% of crashes are caused by driver error and not the roads themselves.

Since the pandemic, WSDOT has seen an increase in serious crashing, noting a rising increase in bad driving.

"At the end of the day, until we can change driver behavior, that's where the real problem exists," Overton said.

Overton said if changes were to be made to the roads, it would cost a lot of money.

He said for now, there are no plans to make changes to Highway 395 near Bakie Road.

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