A driver is dead and another person is seriously injured after a head-on collision on Maple Valley Highway in Renton just before midnight Friday. Police say a westbound vehicle crossed the center line and slammed into another car, and the driver who crossed the line did not survive.
What Police Have Confirmed So Far
According to KOMO News, a vehicle traveling westbound toward Renton crossed the center line and struck another vehicle head-on. One person suffered serious injuries in the crash, while the driver who crossed the line passed away. Police have not said whether speed, drugs, or alcohol played a role, and they have not released the deceased driver's age or sex.
The investigation forced a lengthy closure of the roadway. Maple Valley Highway was shut down from the 2200 block to Southeast Fifth Street while officers worked the scene, per the same account. No additional details about the second driver's identity or condition have been released.
A Highway With a History of Deadly Wrecks
Friday's crash is not the first fatal collision to strike this stretch of road. In August 2019, a motorcycle rider died after crashing on Maple Valley Highway near Classics Sports Bar, with Renton Reporter reporting that police determined alcohol was a factor in that crash. That incident also forced a shutdown of the highway, in that case from 405 Street to Southeast Fifth Street, while investigators worked the scene.
The highway's history of serious collisions stretches back further. In January 2012, a 50-year-old Maple Valley man was killed in a three-car collision on State Route 169, according to Renton Reporter, after a westbound vehicle crossed into the eastbound lanes and collided with a second vehicle, which was then struck by a third. That crash happened in the 16000 block of the highway and closed the road for several hours.
No cause has yet been determined for Friday's deadly collision, and authorities have not said when further details, including the identity of the driver who died, might be released.
