By Kevin Hanson

The Courier-Herald

Two Enumclaw teenagers were victims in a four-car crash March 1, an early-morning accident that snarled commuter traffic on the busy Auburn-Enumclaw Highway.

The Enumclaw pair, Alex Urpman and Scott Petersen, both 19, were headed west about 6 a.m. They were in separate pickup trucks, Petersen in front and Urpman immediately behind, headed for the Auburn manufacturing plant where both work.

According to Washington State Patrol reports, Urpman and Petersen were on the highway between 188th and 416th streets, just west of Enumclaw. Headed the opposite direction was a Ford van driven by Timothy Lake of Auburn, which was being followed by a Honda Accord driven by Enumclaw resident Georgeann Ellis.

Ellis reportedly saw the van drift over the centerline and into the oncoming lane, where it crashed into the side of Petersen's GMC pickup and pushed it into a ditch. The van then struck Urpman's Ford pickup nearly head-on, causing it to leave the road and crash into a power pole.

Lake, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from his van. The van then spun and hit the Honda.

Lake was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition; Urpman was taken by ambulance to Harborview, where he was treated for injuries to both legs. Petersen and Ellis were not injured.