Four dead after car hits bus near Wenatchee

EAST WENATCHEE — Four people were killed when a car hit a bus head-on about 11 miles south of East Wenatchee early Sunday afternoon.  

The incident occurred at about 1:28 p.m. Sunday, according to a press memo from the Washington State Patrol. Jeremy Weber, public information officer for WSP District 6, said the circumstances are still under investigation. 

“District 6 Criminal Investigation Unit and WSP Major Accident Investigation Team, will be assuming the primary investigation,” Weber wrote in a press release. 

A 17-year-old girl was driving west on State Route 28 and attempted to pass a vehicle driven by Rebecca Niemeyer, 29, Cashmere, according to the WSP memo. The girl’s name was withheld due to her age; she was from East Wenatchee.  

The girl hit the bus, which was traveling east, head-on, the WSP memo said. Her car then hit Niemeyer’s vehicle, coming to a stop partially blocking the westbound lane. The bus went into the ditch next to the eastbound lane. The road was closed for 10 hours.  

Both the girl and her passenger, a 17-year-old East Wenatchee boy, were killed, the WSP memo said. The driver of the bus, Michael W. Meacham, 66, of Spokane, was pronounced deceased at the scene. One of the passengers on the bus, whose name was withheld, was transported to Central Washington Hospital-Confluence Health and died of his injuries. Sixteen people were on the bus; eight of them were transported to CWH for treatment.

Niemeyer and two passengers in her vehicle, children eight and six years of age, were uninjured.  

Weber said that particular section of SR 28 requires drivers to pay close attention. Douglas County Undersheriff Tyler Caille said the challenge is complicated by local traffic that commutes back and forth nearly every day.  

Navigating SR 28 is still more complicated because it’s a major route for people going to and from locations and events around Quincy, Weber said. Drivers should be paying attention to how fast they’re going and how close they are to the vehicles in front of them, he said. 

“I think following distance has a lot to do with things,” Weber said.  

The recommendation is that drivers stay back about one car length for each 10 miles per hour, he said – six car lengths for 60 mph as an example. That gives drivers more time to react to something happening in front of them. 

“If we slow down, we have more time to make those decisions,” Weber said.  

Caille said drivers who use that corridor a lot should be paying attention, even if they’re used to it. 

“Don’t become complacent just because it is the road you travel every day,” he said. 

Weber said drivers can’t control what others do, but they can control what they do. He cited following the speed limit even when others aren’t as an example.  

Caille said drivers should be cautious no matter where they’re going. 

“It’s just driving with consideration, for the roadway, the weather conditions, the traffic conditions,” Caille said.