With return of rain, car accidents mount in area

GIG HARBOR -- On State Route 16 eastbound at Wollochet, all lanes were shut down to traffic Tuesday afternoon.

An SUV was destroyed and double dump truck was upside down in the middle of the highway.

"Witnesses say that as the vehicle came around this curve it lost control and spun out into the path of the large dump truck,” Washington State Patrol trooper Paul Joyce said.

Minutes earlier, another accident occurred in the westbound lanes of SR-16 at SR-166 just west of Port Orchard

A dump truck and five cars were involved. Three cars were totaled and four people were injured.

Police say drivers not paying attention and driving too fast for conditions are to blame.

"Slow and remember hydroplaning tires. Reducing your speed will reduce the chances of going out of control,”  Joyce said.

The accidents backed up traffic for miles during the afternoon commute and frustrated a lot of drivers.

"I seen people going off the road, lots of people going off the road and turning around, backing down the side,” driver Jim Stewart said.

"There was an accident in Gorst , we saw that and got over the hill and it's backed up way back there. It's probably all the way to Gorst going the other way now,” driver Bert Esau said.

These accidents played out over and over again Tuesday all over Western Washington, keeping troopers like Mark Francis very busy.

He says it happens at this time every year as the seasons change and drivers fail to adjust in time.

"So when we get into this fall weather and this winter weather, there's two rules, very simple; increase your following distance and then decrease your speed. You're not going to be able to stop nearly as quickly when it's raining. You're going to slide a lot more,” Francis said.

Troopers say now is the perfect time to start getting your car ready for fall and winter driving.

Make sure you have good tires and good brakes, put that emergency bag back in the trunk, slow down and be extra careful -- it’s just rain now but the frozen stuff is not that far away.