Algona, WA -- March 17, 2023, four people were injured due to an accident on State Route 167 which allegedly involved an impaired trucker.

Investigators said that the incident happened along the northbound lanes of the highway near Ellington Road at around 1:00 p.m. According to their statements, a crash somehow occurred involving a semi-truck and a pickup. While the cause was not specified, the 18-wheeler driver apparently was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Four people involved in the crash were injured. Their current conditions are unclear. No further information is available at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

If the allegations here are true, then it would obviously be important to ensure an impaired trucker saw a court date to answer for what happened. This could have been a whole lot worse, but that doesn't make it any less important to ensure there are appropriate consequences.

But while authorities seem to be pursuing that avenue, I haven't seen them say anything about whether or not the driver was working for an employer. While I can't say what happened in this specific incident, drivers don't often wake up one day and decide to go to work drunk or high. More often than not, it's a persistent problem. Responsible employers regularly testing and keeping tabs on their drivers are generally able to catch that issue before it gets someone hurt or killed. So why didn't that happen here? And could that lack of action still be putting lives at risk?

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