Two Sammamish Motorists Involved in 14-Vehicle Crash Wednesday on I-90 near I-405

Update: Rachel Beckwith, the 9-year-old girl who suffered critical injuries in the accident, died on Saturday, officials said. To read more about the girl, click here. 

Two Sammamish residents were involved in the Wednesday morning crash in the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 which involved a total of 14 vehicles, the Washington State Patrol reported.

Residents Shannon Daly and George Bielitz were driving in separate vehicles around 7:50 a.m. on I-90, just east of Interstate 405 when the rear axle and assembly of a Kenworth logging truck became separated, authorities said.

Traffic had slowed and the driver of a different truck, a 1997 Kenworth tractor trailer, hit the 2000 Kenworth logging truck, troopers said in a collision report.

The load of the logging cab started to fishtail and the logs struck multiple vehicles before the driver regained control and pulled the vehicle to the right shoulder of the freeway, State Patrol Sgt. Keith Trowbridge told Bellevue Patch.

Daly's car, a 2002 Audi 4D, and Bielitz's vehicle, a 2006 Honda Pilot, were among the vehicles to hit the heavy truck's logs or rear assembly.

A 9-year-old girl from Issaquah suffered critical injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Trowbridge said. A 2-year-old child was in one vehicle but the injuries were unknown as of Wednesday afternoon.    

The cause of the 14-vehicle accident, which blocked lanes for hours, remains under investigation, troopers said Wednesday afternoon. Trowbridge added that the tractor trailer also struck some cars that were stopped.

The collision memo reported that Daly's Audi had major damage. The memo did not indicate the extent of damage that Bielitz's Honda sustained. Both vehicles were taken to a yard in Bellevue.

While the memo reported that some drivers involved in the accident were taken to area hospitals, it did not note that Daly, 39, or Bielitz, 49, were taken to a medical facility for treatment. Troopers reported that both were wearing their seat belts.

State transportation officials said around noon that all lanes were open.

A total of seven people were taken to Harborview Medical Center or Overlake Hospital Medical Center, the Bellevue Fire Department reported.

The crash caused backups, as long as six miles, nearly an hour after the crash, the Washington State Patrol reported. At the time, state transportation officials said that traffic was limited to the left general purpose lane and HOV lane, which was opened to all vehicles.

The 1997 Kenworth tractor trailer truck was driven by a 60-year-old man from Concrete, troopers said. That vehicle had major damages. Medics took the man to Overlake Hospital Medical Center. A 61-year-old man from Randle was operating the other Kenworth truck.

It remains unknown whether drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash, authorities said. The 14-vehicle crash involved SUVs, sedans and at least one pickup truck.

Editor's note: This story has been updated since it was originally posted. It includes information from Bellevue Patch.