Deer Park man killed in Christmas Day traffic accident

December 27, 2011

Updated 5 p.m. on Dec. 27
Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies are trying to determine the cause of a one-vehicle accident on Dec. 25 that took the life of Bradley J. Updegrove, 45-year-old Deer Park man.
The fatal crash occurred around 9 p.m. at the north 27800 block of Cedar Road (just south of Owens Road). A motorist driving by the area found a 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche crashed against a tree. Deputies found the driver, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, without a pulse. Shortly after medics arrived on the scene and pronounced him dead.
An initial investigation and scene evidence show the pickup truck was southbound on Cedar Road traveling around the speed limit and left the roadway for some unknown reason. It was lightly snowing at the time, but slick conditions didn’t appear to be a factor.
The truck drove off the roadway and followed the shoulder of the road for around 150 feet until it struck a large tree head-on. All of the airbags in the vehicle deployed. However, Updegrove was not wearing his seatbelt.
The Chevrolet Avalanche has an airbag control module (ACM) that records crash data. Investigators will image this module with their crash data retrieval software later in the week to learn more about what the pickup truck was doing moments before the accident.
It is unknown whether drugs or alcohol played a factor in the accident. Traffic investigators will have to wait about a month to receive results back from the state toxicology laboratory in Seattle.