NORTH BEND, Wash. — Snoqualmie Pass reopened to traffic Monday morning after a fatal crash and numerous spinouts overnight amid heavy snowfall caused a lengthy closure.
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Westbound I-90 was closed near Ellensburg and the eastbound lanes were closed near North Bend. The closure began about 11 p.m. Sunday and lasted nine hours.
There was heavy snowfall and white out conditions in the summit area. At one point Sunday night, the Washington State Patrol told KIRO 7 that more than 20 cars crashed along a 10-mile stretch within two hours.
WSP said there were numerous vehicles that were not equipped with chains that spun out and crashed cars were waiting for tows.
Among the crashes was one that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child when the car she was in left the road, hit a guardrail and plummeted 20 feet down an embankment.
Chains are required for all vehicles except all wheel drives, eastbound from milepost 47, near Denny Creek, and westbound at milepost 56, near Gold Creek.
As of Monday at 5 a.m., heavy snow continued to fall at the pass. A winter weather advisory for the Cascades that was set to expire was extended through 11 a.m. above 1,000 feet for an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow.
Meanwhile in the lowlands, spots with elevations of 500 feet and above could see some wet snow.
Cox Media Group
