Police identify Moses Lake and Auburn men as deceased in collision
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Eastbound traffic on Interstate 90 was diverted by Washington state troopers after a fatal two-car accident Monday afternoon.
Washington State troopers and medical responders blanket the road after a fatal two-car collision roughly two miles east of Moses Lake on Interstate 90 Monday afternoon.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
MOSES LAKE — Police have identified Emanuel Schaible, 87, of Moses Lake, as the driver who was driving westbound on Interstate 90 near exit 183 when he collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Robert Miller, 59, of Auburn.
Both drivers were declared dead at the scene.
Deputies were called around 2:30 p.m. Monday for a report of a driver, identified as Schaible, in a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe, going westbound in an eastbound lane approaching exit 183, according to state troopers. Several minutes later, calls came in reporting that Schaible had collided head-on with a 2014 Chevy Express driven by Miller, killing the drivers of both vehicles.
Authorities were not immediately certain how Schaible came to be driving the wrong way on the freeway and are investigating whether the driver was intoxicated, according to law enforcement.
Detours were in place for hours, directing drivers from I-90 onto Frontage Road, while crews worked to clear the backup and investigate the incident, according to troopers. Only the two vehicles were involved, according to law enforcement.
