Semi-Truck Crash Spills Thousands Of Apples Into Columbia River, Across SR-243 Near Mattawa
Traffic is flowing normally once again on a major harvest-season shipping route in Grant County, after a single-vehicle accident snarled the busy highway on Monday afternoon.
The Washington State Patrol says it happened at around 3:30 p.m. on State Route 243 about four miles north of Mattawa, when a semi-truck driven by 66-year-old Robert Smith of Othello failed to negotiate a curve, lost control, and crashed into a guardrail.
As the semi lost control, it spilled its entire load of apples, some which were strewn across the highway, while many others fell down an embankment into the Columbia River.
Smith escaped the wreck without injury, but troopers say he caused the accident by exceeding the speed limit as he entered the curve.
He was was issued a citation for speeding.
The accident slowed traffic on the highway for hours while the spilled fruit was cleaned up.
It was the second incident involving a semi spilling its load of apples into the Columbia River at the same curve on SR-243 in the past four years.
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