A semi is off the road in the Northbound enterance lane of Interstate 5 at milepost 99 Wednesday afternoon in Grand Mound.
A man driving a semi truck reportedly suffered a “medical emergency” while driving onto Interstate 5 from the Exit 88 on-ramp in Grand Mound, causing him to veer off the road alongside the freeway Wednesday afternoon, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The driver died on the scene, according to WSP trooper Ryan Burke, but the cause of death is unknown at this time. Burke said after a preliminary assessment of the incident they suspect the man suffered a heart attack.
At this time, Burke was unable to provide the identity of the man and said he was being transported to be assessed by medical examiners.
West Thurston Fire Authority Emergency Medical Services personnel, who arrived on the scene before the WSP, were unsuccessful in their attempt to resuscitate the man, according to Burke.
“Obviously medical examiners will have to look at him but right now our preliminary (assessment) is he may have had a heart attack,” Burke said. “but that is not confirmed at this point so we won’t know (the cause of death) for a little while.”
Burke added that the man driving the semi truck was the only person involved in the incident and no other people were injured.
According to Burke, the driver of the truck, which had British Columbia license plates, was entering I-5 from the Exit 88 on-ramp at which point he lost control of the vehicle and crashed the truck into a ditch near the exit.
There was nothing that indicated foul play, drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident, according to Burke.
