(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
Police say it’s been an ongoing issue since the flooding began and road closures were put in place – people seem to move the roadblocks or drive around them.
After video of a school bus going through a roadblock surfaced, Durham School Services is taking corrective actions. The driver is on leave while the investigation is ongoing."
KHQ went to Upriver Drive right by the Green Street bridge, and found five people go through or around the blocks and over the flooded roadway in the span of an hour.
“You're taking your own life into your hands by driving through the water,” says Officer Joshua Laiva with the Spokane Police Department.
Those roadblocks are put up for safety reasons. Officer Laiva says with all the water on the road, you car can stall, and you can’t see what the water’s eroded away.
“There could just be a giant hole there, a sinkhole that your car could get in,” he says. “So you could get trapped in your car in the water. It's a very potentially dangerous situation.”
And with the way the water’s moving, and how cold it is, “if you do get swept in the survival chances in the water like this are pretty low,” he says.
It’s not only safe to avoid driving over the water. If you fail to obey these traffic control signs, you could get a $136 ticket.