Van crashes into two parked cars on 8th and 76th

A driver who says he was distracted by his phone crashed his van into two parked cars on 8th Avenue NW between NW 75th and NW 76th streets just after 11 o’clock this morning.

The driver of the dark blue van, William Barnes, told me he was driving north on 8th Avenue NW when he looked down at his phone, and apparently drifted to the right. He hit a parked silver car, pushing it into a parked black 1976 Plymouth Volare.
The owner of the black car, Jeff Minto, said he was asleep at the time of the crash. Nikkolas Wheatley, who owns the silver car, said he and his wife and newborn baby had just driven up from Lewis County last night to visit friends, and were inside the nearby house at the time.
“I was inside getting ready to make a bottle and heard a huge crash, and came outside to this,” Wheatley said.

Barnes, the van’s driver, was not injured, but said he had some scrapes and bruises. His van ended up backwards from the direction he was driving, and on its side.

William Barnes, the van’s driver, removes his belongings from his vehicle.