Family and witnesses urge Snohomish County to push for safety upgrades on Highway 2 after fatal head-on crash

During the May 26 administrative session, members of the public urged Snohomish County to pursue safety improvements on Highway 2 following a fatal April 18 head-on crash.

An online commenter who said she was speaking for her aunt read a statement describing the April crash that killed two 33-year-old drivers and urged specific safety measures: lighting, a median or barrier to separate opposing traffic and wider lanes. The speaker said, "Something needs to change to make Highway 2 safer," and asked the council to "look seriously at improvements and changes that must happen in this highway."

Leah Pizzetti, a Snohomish County resident who said she was present the night of the crash, described seeing two mangled cars at the scene and told the council that four people have now died at that same spot. "We know that this is not a city or even a county issue," Pizzetti said. "We know that this is state and federal support that we need," but urged county leaders to join the community's advocacy and to work with cities and police chiefs.

Vice Chair Sam Lowe later noted he had attended a Highway 2 trestle roundtable earlier that morning and said the trestle and Highway 2 safety "need to be addressed." The council offered to have staff follow up with the commenters; no formal action, funding allocation, or vote on Highway 2 improvements was recorded in the administrative session.

The commenters asked the county to help reconstitute a safety coalition and to escalate concerns to state and federal partners, including the state transportation authority and lawmakers in Olympia and Washington, D.C. Council members and staff acknowledged the requests and indicated staff follow-up but did not set a formal next step during the meeting.