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WSU baseball coach Donnie Marbut involved in head-on collision

Witnesses say Marbut was driving erratically and swerved into oncoming traffic.

By Jeff Nusser
WSU Athletic Communications

WSU baseball coach Donnie Marbut was transported to Pullman Regional Hospital shortly before the Cougars were scheduled to begin their series with San Jose State after he apparently crossed over into traffic and hit a car at the intersection of Stadium Way and Main Street, according to a series of tweets by Cable 8 reporter Brenna Kelly.

A spokesperson for the hospital confirmed that Marbut had been treated, evaluated and released by 7:50 p.m. Attempts to reach WSU for comment have been unsuccessful.

EDIT, 8:25 p.m.: WSU has released a statement acknowledging the collision and stating that he did not coach Thursday and is not expected to coach on Friday. No other details were released by the school.

Here's a picture from the scene. It's been confirmed that the white truck is Marbut's:

The accident occurred about 30 minutes before the scheduled first pitch between WSU and San Jose State. According to Kelly, witnesses said Marbut -- who was in his team uniform -- was "driving over curbs and not following any laws," nearly crashing into a pole before hitting a car that was stopped at the intersection.

In a situation such as this, it's natural to wonder if substances were involved. But given the fact that Marbut was treated and released within two hours of the accident, it's almost certain that substances were not involved, given that he'd still at least be detained pending the results of a blood screening, if not already placed under arrest and undergoing booking at this time.

EDIT, 8:25 p.m.: Spokesman-Review reporter Jacob Thorpe has spoken with police.

We'll have more on the situation as it becomes available.

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