Seven people have died in traffic collisions on Spokane city streets so far this year.
Four incidents killed pedestrians. Only one of the incidents involved alcohol.
At this rate, Spokane could easily exceed the number of traffic fatalities from past years by the end of 2025. Last year, 20 people died from traffic collisions inside Spokane city limits. The city had 12 fatal collisions in 2023, and 14 in 2022.
Last year, community leader Janet Mann was killed in a hit-and-run accident while walking across the street at Browne Street and Main Avenue in downtown Spokane. Gary Burns, who later pleaded guilty to not staying at the scene, turned right onto Browne Street during a red light and didn't see Mann until it was too late. Mann's death sent new shockwaves of grief and frustration through the public and pedestrian safety activists.
City officials, including Spokane City Council members Zack Zappone and Paul Dillon, have been championing traffic calming efforts to make things safer for years.
At the beginning of this year, Mayor Lisa Brown added Jon Snyder to her cabinet as director of transportation and sustainability. In his role, Snyder analyzes the city's traffic safety priorities and is spearheading policy changes to combat growing numbers of fatal or serious collisions, which spiked during the pandemic and haven't come back down.
"We're still trying to come down from this post-COVID problem where there's just a lack of regard for safety and a lot of bad driver behavior," Snyder says. "There's a lot of stuff on the books [in Spokane] that says 'Hey, we want this safer.' Those priorities are all here. I'm just trying to actualize as much as possible for our communities."
In his first months on the job, Snyder has helped the mayor initiate a new slate of traffic safety initiatives that will be rolled out in coming months. At a press conference on April 16, city administrators unveiled a "no turn on red" sign on Post Street and Main Avenue that now prohibits vehicles from turning right onto Main while the light is red.
"Janet Mann was killed in an intersection that allowed right turns on red, so that shines a bright light on that [issue]," Snyder says.
On May 12, the City Council is scheduled to vote on an ordinance that could eventually prohibit more turns against a red light at high-use pedestrian crossings across downtown Spokane.
At the April press conference, Police Chief Kevin Hall also announced that the Spokane Police Department will reinstate a traffic unit. The new Traffic Safety and Education Unit will have four officers dedicated to enforcing traffic laws, while three more officers will be assigned to DUI enforcement and education.
On May 19, the City Council is set to vote on an ordinance that would make it safer and more convenient to create "play streets." The ordinance would make it easier to temporarily close streets for block parties and neighborhood events from June through Halloween.
The ordinance isn't just fun and games, Snyder says.
"This whole idea that we can repurpose streets for other functions — whether it's festivals or events or just your kid's graduation party on the block in front of your house — really gets people thinking about streets as these multiuse facilities that are not just for vehicles getting from point A to point B," he says. "To me, that has an indirect effect on safety."
Snyder is also working to finalize the Traffic Fatality Review Team, which will analyze every traffic fatality in Spokane. Professionals including city planners, first responders and social service providers would consider the engineering, environmental, vehicular or behavioral factors involved in each crash and make recommendations to eliminate risks for fatal or serious injury crashes.
The Inlander visited the locations of all seven 2025 traffic fatalities within Spokane city limits. We took note of infrastructure (or lack thereof) that could put pedestrians, drivers and passengers at risk. Here's what we found.
Note: We've only named the people involved if they've already been identified through public documents or previous reporting. We recreated crash scenes with information from court documents and the Washington State Patrol's Collision Analysis Tool.
JAN. 12 - 9:34 am
ADDISON STREET AND CENTRAL AVENUE - TWO VEHICLES
On an overcast Sunday morning, 27-year-old Jack Labi was reportedly speeding south on Addison Street, an arterial (high-capacity street) in northeast Spokane. Official reports say Labi had two passengers in his midsize SUV and was driving under the influence of alcohol. A 58-year-old woman was driving a small sedan with a man in the passenger seat on Central Avenue, a residential side street. She was turning left onto Addison when the two cars collided.
The person in the passenger's seat of Labi's car later died in the hospital, while the four other people involved in the crash were all injured.
This intersection is at the northeast corner of a parking lot for Providence Holy Family Hospital. The area is heavily residential. Lidgerwood Elementary is four blocks south, and Garry Middle School is two blocks east. The stretch of Addison Street that goes past the elementary school is marked as a school zone. Otherwise, the speed limit on the arterial is 30 mph.
On a recent sunny weekday afternoon, there's a steady flow of cars along Addison. An unprotected bike lane is sandwiched between the vehicle lanes and street parking, but no one seems to be using it. Motor vehicles on Addison get the right of way (the side streets have stop signs), and cars are going various speeds on the long, straight stretch. To the naked eye, not everyone seems to be following the speed limit. There aren't marked crosswalks for pedestrians, but at 3:30 pm, just as Garry Middle School gets out for the day, there aren't any pedestrians in sight.
JAN. 29 - 8:16 am
ROWAN AVENUE AND PITTSBURG STREET - TWO VEHICLES
On a clear morning in northeast Spokane, a 24-year-old driver ran a stop sign when she crossed Rowan Avenue on Pittsburg Street. An 84-year-old woman was driving with a 64-year-old passenger on Rowan Avenue when the two cars collided. The passenger later died at the hospital.
This intersection is right between Whitman Elementary School and Magnolia Care, a 53-bed assisted living facility. Rowan Avenue has two broad lanes and the right of way. On the afternoon of my visit, there are plenty of pedestrians, especially students, some of whom are presumably Rogers High School students walking home after class. Nothing in this particular area would bring attention to intersections with side streets, the way that sidewalk bumpouts or crosswalks could.
FEB. 21 - 8:40 pm
ALBERTA STREET NEAR HEROY AVENUE - VEHICLE VS. PEDESTRIAN
The temperature was right above freezing when a 62-year-old man was driving at night on Alberta Street. Douglas Martindale, 66, was walking on the road in dark clothing. The driver accidentally hit Martindale, who later died in the hospital. Police did not suspect the driver of being impaired and did not charge him.
This area is right behind Glover Middle School and the Shadle Shopping Center. It's not clear why Martindale was walking in the road instead of on the sidewalk, but the sidewalks on Alberta Street don't have a green space or a strip of grass to separate pedestrians from cars.
On a weekday morning visit, there are plenty of people, most elderly, walking between the shopping center and the nearby residential area. Many are carrying groceries from Safeway. Most walk on the edge of the sidewalk farthest from the street.
One woman carrying large plastic bags waits to cross at Heroy Avenue. No cars stop to allow her to cross, and since there is a steady stream of cars, she waits almost a minute until the road is clear.
FEB. 24 - 8:18 pm
WHISTALKS WAY AND RANDOLPH ROAD - VEHICLE VS. PEDESTRIAN
Zhilan Chen, 72, was struck and killed by the 31-year-old driver of a pickup truck at the intersection of Whistalks Way and Randolph Road in west Spokane. Chen died at the scene. Reports say she was walking out into the road from behind a parked vehicle when the truck hit her. There isn't any street parking on Whistalks Way, but it's possible that Chen was walking around a bus. Her death was ruled an accident, and there were no charges.
Whistalks Way is a four-lane road with near-constant traffic around 11 am on a recent weekday. The intersection with Randolph Road is surrounded by apartment buildings and is at the edge of Spokane Falls Community College and the Mukogawa campus. There are bus stops at the intersection, but there are no benches, shelters, or crosswalks to draw attention — they're only designated by a small bus stop sign on either side of the road, hard to see against trees and buildings.
MARCH 2 - 7:52 pm
ADAMS STREET NEAR 22ND AVENUE - VEHICLE VS. PEDESTRIAN
An 84-year-old woman was driving on Adams Street, a residential street that runs next to High Drive on the South Hill, in the dark. She hit a man who was walking on the road. He later died in the hospital.
There are no street lights on the 2100 block of Adams Street where the incident occurred, and no sidewalks on this block either. On a recent weekday afternoon, cars are parked on either side of the street, and a young woman pushes a baby stroller along the road. It's a very quiet street compared to the traffic on High Drive, and Adams is significantly separated from the high traffic road by a large swatch of grass and trees. At the intersection with 22nd Avenue, two basketball hoops face each other on the corner, and it looks like the road is used as an informal basketball court.
MARCH 28 - 3:35 pm
FRANCIS AVENUE AND MARKET STREET - TWO VEHICLES
A 25-year-old motorcycle driver collided with another vehicle at this huge intersection in northeast Spokane. The motorcyclist died at the scene.
Francis Avenue and Market Street each have five lanes at this intersection, so the area in the middle of the intersection is very wide. Plenty of trucks and other large vehicles are presumably coming from nearby U.S. Route 395. The area is heavily industrial and pretty congested, even during a visit before rush hour.
APRIL 24 - 9:17 pm
SUNSET BOULEVARD AND LEWIS STREET - VEHICLE VS. PEDESTRIAN
Mary Shockley, 78, died in the dark on Sunset Boulevard next to the manufactured home community where she lived. She was accidentally hit by a 64-year-old driver.
There is a bus stop next to Hilltop Manufactured Home Community. But if residents want to go toward Spokane instead of away from it, they have to cross to the other side of a five-lane highway with a 50 mph speed limit. There is no marked crosswalk, no flashing lights, no bus shelters and no reminders to drivers to look for pedestrians.
On a recent weekday morning, a man and his dog run across the lanes while waving to oncoming drivers. A man wheels a pink baby stroller across two westbound lanes, then waits in the turn lane for the other two lanes of eastbound traffic to clear.
Shockley is Spokane's most recent traffic fatality, and a small memorial of balloons and prayers still hangs from Hilltop's fence next to Sunset Boulevard. ♦
LOCATIONS OF FATAL COLLISIONS IN SPOKANE COUNTY (OUTSIDE SPOKANE CITY LIMITS) THIS YEAR
TSCHIRLEY ROAD (3300 block)
Jan. 5, vehicle vs. pedestrian
SPRAGUE AVENUE AND ARGONNE ROAD
Jan. 6, two vehicles
STATE ROUTE 2 AND WOOD ROAD
Jan. 8, two vehicles
HIGHWAY 2 NEAR ZIEGLER STREET
Jan. 23, vehicle vs. pedestrian
INTERSTATE 90 NEAR EVERGREEN ROAD
Feb. 14, four vehicles and one pedestrian
WHITE ROAD NEAR MEDICAL LAKE HIGHWAY
March 2, two vehicles
ROTCHFORD DRIVE NEAR GALWAY LANE
March 7, one vehicle
IDAHO ROAD NEAR ROWAN AVENUE,
April 25, two vehicles
