Huge 12-vehicle pileup caused by semi changing lanes on I-5
GRAND MOUND, Wash. - A 12-vehicle pileup that snarled traffic on Interstate 5 north of Centralia for hours on Friday afternoon all began when a semi-truck made an unsafe lane change and rammed into a Mazda pickup.
That triggered a rapid-fire sequence of crashes in the northbound lanes that ultimately entangled five other semi-trucks and six other vehicles, Washington State Patrol investigators say.
One of those other vehicles, a 2008 Toyota Camry driven by a 68-year-old Portland, Ore., woman, was hit four separate times - but the driver sustained only some cuts on her hands. Her passenger, a 63-year-old woman, was unhurt.
The driver of the Mazda pickup was injured in the pileup as well, but no one was killed.
The series of crashes left a tangled mass of jackknifed semis, smashed-up cars and shattered glass and metal all over the highway.
According to the State Patrol, the pileup happened like this:
• Five vehicles in one northbound lane of I-5 were slowing for traffic ahead near the Lewis-Thurston county border.
• A Volvo semi-truck hauling a refrigeration trailer also was heading north when the driver, a 42-year-old Vancouver man, made an unsafe lane change behind the five slowing vehicles.
• The Volvo semi-truck smashed into the last of the five vehicles, a 1994 Mazda pickup, forcing it into the next lane.
• The Volvo semi-truck then crashed into a 2004 Ford pickup that was next in the line of five slowing vehicles. That started a chain reaction in which each of the vehicles smashed into the one in front of it.
• Meanwhile, a 2008 Toyota Camry driven by the 68-year-old Portland woman was heading north in the other lane. She collided with the Mazda pickup as it was forced into her lane.
• At the same time, the Volvo semi-truck's trailer swung around and smashed into the Camry. The impact caused the Camry to crash into the jersey barrier.
• Another Volvo semi coming up on the crash scene slammed into the Camry and into the Mazda pickup. Then a Mack truck hauling an empty flatbed trailer hit the Mazda with its trailer.
• A second Mack truck hauling an empty trailer then smashed into the first Mack truck.
• A third Mack truck with an empty trailer got stuck behind the second Volvo semi and was rear-ended by a Kenworth semi-truck, which pushed it into the second Volvo semi.
The driver of the Mazda, a 24-year-old Centralia man, was taken to Centralia Providence Hospital with head and neck injuries.
In the aftermath of the crash, traffic in the northbound lanes froze to a halt. A backup later formed in the southbound lanes as drivers slowed to gawk at the extensive wreckage.
It took several hours to investigate the crash and clear the wreckage, causing a 15-mile backup in the southbound lanes and a 10-mile backup in the northbound direction. A detour through downtown Centralia also caused massive traffic jams inside the city.
State Transportation Department officials say a woman went into labor Friday while she was caught in the backup. Aid units arrived to take the woman to safety.
All lanes were reopened by 5:20 p.m., but the backups lingered into the evening.
That triggered a rapid-fire sequence of crashes in the northbound lanes that ultimately entangled five other semi-trucks and six other vehicles, Washington State Patrol investigators say.
One of those other vehicles, a 2008 Toyota Camry driven by a 68-year-old Portland, Ore., woman, was hit four separate times - but the driver sustained only some cuts on her hands. Her passenger, a 63-year-old woman, was unhurt.
The driver of the Mazda pickup was injured in the pileup as well, but no one was killed.
The series of crashes left a tangled mass of jackknifed semis, smashed-up cars and shattered glass and metal all over the highway.
According to the State Patrol, the pileup happened like this:
• Five vehicles in one northbound lane of I-5 were slowing for traffic ahead near the Lewis-Thurston county border.
• A Volvo semi-truck hauling a refrigeration trailer also was heading north when the driver, a 42-year-old Vancouver man, made an unsafe lane change behind the five slowing vehicles.
• The Volvo semi-truck smashed into the last of the five vehicles, a 1994 Mazda pickup, forcing it into the next lane.
• The Volvo semi-truck then crashed into a 2004 Ford pickup that was next in the line of five slowing vehicles. That started a chain reaction in which each of the vehicles smashed into the one in front of it.
• Meanwhile, a 2008 Toyota Camry driven by the 68-year-old Portland woman was heading north in the other lane. She collided with the Mazda pickup as it was forced into her lane.
• At the same time, the Volvo semi-truck's trailer swung around and smashed into the Camry. The impact caused the Camry to crash into the jersey barrier.
• Another Volvo semi coming up on the crash scene slammed into the Camry and into the Mazda pickup. Then a Mack truck hauling an empty flatbed trailer hit the Mazda with its trailer.
• A second Mack truck hauling an empty trailer then smashed into the first Mack truck.
• A third Mack truck with an empty trailer got stuck behind the second Volvo semi and was rear-ended by a Kenworth semi-truck, which pushed it into the second Volvo semi.
The driver of the Mazda, a 24-year-old Centralia man, was taken to Centralia Providence Hospital with head and neck injuries.
In the aftermath of the crash, traffic in the northbound lanes froze to a halt. A backup later formed in the southbound lanes as drivers slowed to gawk at the extensive wreckage.
It took several hours to investigate the crash and clear the wreckage, causing a 15-mile backup in the southbound lanes and a 10-mile backup in the northbound direction. A detour through downtown Centralia also caused massive traffic jams inside the city.
State Transportation Department officials say a woman went into labor Friday while she was caught in the backup. Aid units arrived to take the woman to safety.
All lanes were reopened by 5:20 p.m., but the backups lingered into the evening.