Jose Solis, 39, Injured in Head-On Collision Between School Bus and Pickup Truck on Highway 97A in Chelan County, Washington - December 6, 2025

A head-on collision occurred on December 6, 2025, at approximately 7:12 AM on U.S. Highway 97A north of the Knapps Hill Tunnel in Chelan County, Washington, resulting in one fatality and multiple injuries. According to authorities, a 2003 Ford Ranger pickup truck veered across the centerline on Highway 97A and struck a Cascade School District bus head-on. The collision involved a total of ten individuals, including the drivers of both vehicles and eight student passengers who were members of the Cascade High School wrestling team returning from a match in Chelan. The force of the impact necessitated emergency response and medical transportation for the injured parties.

Jose Solis, a 39-year-old male resident of Wenatchee, Washington, was operating the Cascade School District bus at the time of the collision and sustained injuries requiring medical treatment. Solis was transported to Lake Chelan Health for evaluation and treatment of his injuries. The operator of the Ford Ranger sustained serious injuries and was transported via helicopter to a medical facility in Seattle. A passenger in the pickup truck was pronounced deceased at the scene of the collision. All eight students aboard the school bus, ranging in age from 12 to 17 years, were evaluated at Lake Chelan Health as a precautionary measure; however, none of the students sustained injuries in the incident. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision remains ongoing, with authorities examining the factors that led to the pickup truck crossing the centerline into oncoming traffic.