The Chronicle

     COLES CORNER – Two people died Friday and traffic was halted across Stevens Pass when a tree fell atop a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban.
     According to a Washington State Patrol report, Bothell residents Timothy Desmond Owen, 58, and Cheryl Janine Reed, 56, were pronounced dead at the scene at 1:30 p.m., approximately 21 miles west of Leavenworth on U.S. Highway 2.
     As a result of the incident, the state Department of Transportation closed the highway while rescue efforts and debris removal were under way.
     Owen’s other passengers, Jeremy Mathias Owen, 22,of Bothell; Jamie Owen Mayer, 24, of Seattle; Steven T. Mayer, 24, of Seattle; and Jessica Janine Owen, 27, of Bothell; were all transported to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, the State Patrol reported.
     Their conditions were not available.
     The driver and all passengers were wearing seatbelts, the State Patrol reported.
     Neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor in the crash, the State Patrol reported. Owen’s vehicle was destroyed and removed from the scene by Leavenworth Towing.
     The highway, which connects Eastern and Western Washington via Stevens Pass, reopened at 4:38 p.m.