A Chehalis driver speeding on Interstate 5 near Maytown caused a six-vehicle crash Thursday blocking both north- and southbound lanes of the freeway for nearly five hours.
According to a news release from the Washington State Patrol, the crash was reported at 12:26 p.m. Thursday at northbound I-5 milepost 96, just north of Maytown.
“It appears as though ... a semi jackknifed in the middle of Interstate 5 northbound at milepost 96,” said West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Russ Kaleiwahea.
The WSP press release details the events of the crash.
Five vehicles were traveling northbound approaching milepost 96 — a 2004 Hyundai Elantra driven by a 20-year-old Chehalis man; a 2005 Ford Explorer driven by a 73-year-old man whose city of residence was unknown; a 2006 Peterbilt semi hauling a trailer driven by a 51-year-old man from Surrey, BC; a 2020 Volvo semi driven by a 54-year-old man from New River, Arizona; and a 2015 Nissan Leaf driven by a 63-year-old woman from Tumwater. A sixth vehicle, a 2018 Jeep Wrangler driven by a 58-year-old man from Lake Oswego, Oregon, was heading southbound.
The Hyundai driven by the Chehalis man reportedly started the chain of events by hitting the jersey barrier on the left-hand shoulder, though initial reports blamed one of the semis. The Ford then struck the Hyundai. The Volvo semi stopped to avoid striking the first two vehicles, and was struck by the Peterbilt semi, which then hit the jersey barrier, pushing it into the southbound lanes. The Nissan then hit the Peterbilt semi, and the Jeep hit the jersey barrier in the southbound lanes.
The crash was caused by speeding, according to the state patrol. One injury was reported.
Kaleiwahea told The Chronicle that as a result of the crash, one woman was trapped inside her vehicle, though fire personnel were able to get her out of the vehicle with no injuries.
Kaleiwahea originally told The Chronicle seven vehicles were involved, and eight people injured, but The WSP report only lists six vehicles and one injury. The one person injured was the driver of the Nissan, who was evaluated by aid crews at the scene.
According to the Washington State Department of Traffic Southwest’s Twitter Account, there was also a diesel spill on the scene that is being cleaned up.
All lanes of the freeway were blocked for 4 hours and 44 minutes, according to the WSP.
