Man severely injured in crash with semi on I-5
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - A driver suffered life-threatening injuries Thursday morning when he cut in front of a semi truck on Interstate 5 near Federal Way, the Washington State Patrol reported.
State troopers responded to the scene, on southbound I-5 near 375th Street, at about 10:30 a.m. after receiving a report of a serious crash.
A preliminary investigation found that a red Saab convertible was heading south on the freeway, driving erratically and crossing back and forth from one lane to another.
At some point, the driver of the Saab lost control, crossed in front of a semi truck in the right lane and was struck in a crash that severely damaged the vehicle.
The driver, a man in his 40s, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The State Patrol asks anyone who witnessed the crash to contact them.
State troopers responded to the scene, on southbound I-5 near 375th Street, at about 10:30 a.m. after receiving a report of a serious crash.
A preliminary investigation found that a red Saab convertible was heading south on the freeway, driving erratically and crossing back and forth from one lane to another.
At some point, the driver of the Saab lost control, crossed in front of a semi truck in the right lane and was struck in a crash that severely damaged the vehicle.
The driver, a man in his 40s, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The State Patrol asks anyone who witnessed the crash to contact them.
Oh hush now... He was in a Saab. the guy will be fine.Â
The Classic 900s were swedish tanks. even the verts when flipped have saved the lives of countless saab owners, regardless of reckless driving.Â
not to say that he was NOT in the wrong as he did cut off the semi, but its good to know that he is going to be okay.
Many of my Saab friends have owned and unfortunately got into an accident in a Classic 900, and all have lived to tell the tale, one accident being very similar to the one shown above.Â
The people making comments as to how his driving was are no better. You're probably the same as the 16 year old teenage girl texting behind the wheel in your Mazda 3/Honda Civic/Toyota Yaris cutting off countless people in traffic without your damn blinkers on.Â
Being a truck driver for the last 30 years,I've witnessed thousands of drivers like the one who was driving this crunched vehicle in the photo.All too often they come out of the wreck they cause unscathed,while inflicting death,or paralysis on innocent drivers...
Without a doubt,these wreckless drivers,whether it be driving a car or motorcycle...deserve to DIE in these accidents - period
Yes, it is unfortunate it came down to such a terrible "accident". But it was no accident, it was recklessness. It is possible to feel for everyone involved and still be angry with the driver for endangering so many lives.
All of these comments are amazing! I'm sure none of you have ever been caught speeding in the rain, or made lane changes you weren't proud of. Give me a break. What ever happened to help thy neighbor. I and my husband, like Cassandra, witnessed the accident and we're the only 2 to pull over to check on the man injured. He made a mistake, that's why it's called an accident. He was severly injured, and I would hope that any of you involved in an accident would have the pleasure of a bystander come by to stay with you until help arrives. We thought he was dead, but as we approached he was breathing and moved his head.
@Stephanie MillerÂ
Compassion and empathy are no longer American traits. It's "Every man for himself" out there...
He was unable to speak and we didn't think he'd make it. But, at least we did the right thing! If he does pass at least he knows there are good people in the world willing to stay and talk with him and let him know aid is on the way. Unlike the Audi driving by to take a freaking picture! Makes me sick. Stop judging and look in the mirror before judging others, and learn compassion!!!
This comment has been deleted
You are aptly self-named.
hate to say it but when you drive like that, something bad happenes. feel bad for the trucker. if he lives through this dont think he will be driving like that again, if driving at all
It's easy to assume and judge without having the facts. I'm deeply sorry for the man, the truck driver and the people who stopped to assist, and were nod oubt traumatized.
@kadam12Â
Perhaps the car suffered a mechanical failure? Blown tire? Medical condition?
Naw.. no need to think beyond one's misconceptions....
My buddy witnessed it. Looks like he needs to contact the state patrol. I guess he was flying in the passing lane and drifted on the shoulder, in the dirt then lost control and buzzed across all lanes until the truck hit him. My buddy was sure the guy died. He'll be relieved to know that it wasn't the case
The sad part is that this accident will probably go on the trucker's MVR and potentially ruin his career. They're not very fair about these kind of things in the trucking industry.Â
I can't say I feel sorry for him...........I hope he learns a lesson from it.
@2ndstartothenorth When your car fails you on the road..I wont feel sorry for you and hope you learn a lesson from it
I am amazed at how callous and judgemental people can be. What if this were their loved one?
It's sad to see people who have no idea of what happened making ridiculous comments. I was there when it happened I gave my statement to the officers and was there waiting until help got there. The man was driving perfectly fine when his car started shaking out of control. He did not cut off a semi his car hit the side of it when trying to gain back control. It scared me to death and how long it took help to get there I hope and pray this man is ok because he was non-responsive.It was no ones fault something went wrong with the car. I hope this helps you all understand the situation and stop accusing the semi driver or the driver from the SAAB
@Cassandra Unless you were in the car, you are only an eyewitness. Even courts recognize that eyewitnesses can be unreliable. You have no idea what was happening with the man and the car because you were not IN the car with him. Just be thankful that you were not injured by this and stop preaching at the choir.
Cassandra, you restore my faith in people.
@Cassandra He was speeding in terrible road conditions. No person deserves to suffer but he was still at fault. He was going way over the speed limit and way too fast for weather conditions even if something on his car failed.
@Cassandra You still don't know why the driver was losing control of his car.Â
Confucius says, "Man who drive in front of semi get tired"
Driving used to be fun.
hopefully the semi truck drivers log book was in tune othervise they will blame everything on him now that's the sad truth.
I guess this is a Saab story....Â
Once again the yield to superior tonnage rule has proven to be true. There are far too
many examples of individuals being hurt, or killed by not following that rule, be it against
a semi truck , or a train.
I pray that this apparently foolish individual recovers and that the lesson about that rule isÂ
now firmly imbedded in his head.
Semi wins.
He thought he owned the road, and he paid for it. Thank God he didn't make someone else pay for it.
Saw some idiot in a truck weaving like that yesterday between cars, almost hitting several people......too many stupid drivers out there and we all suffer because of them. One would hope this would be a wakeup call for the driver to change his ways before the next accident takes his life.....but I won't hold my breath.Â
@dg54321: Wake up call? Probably not. Driver/people such as these have the attitude they are better than "those idiots who crashed." That is until they crash themselves and become a statistic.
Stupidity surely hurts... Glad he only hurt himself..
That's too bad. Luckily he only injured himself. I'm having a hard time finding sympathy for him. He acted like an idiot and he's paying the price for it. I do feel sorry for his family and friends. My brother used to be a crazy driver like that. I hated him for it and how he never killed himself or another is a mystery. I know even though he was a doorknob I would still be devastated.
Drive carefully near semi trucks. Those vehicles are large and difficult to control.  Give them their space.  Plus, there is a horrible trend of Truckers drively excessively fast and negligently.       Most of them probably have criminal records too so I would be careful near trucks as you cannot always rely that they are good truck handlers.  From what I have seen on the road thus far.....most of them are NOT.
@grayfox Criminal records? Where do you get that from? It's very hard to get a trucking job with a record. Trucking companies have to worry about liability MORE than the average company does.Â
@grayfox Most trucking companies require their drivers to be bonded so its fairly rare to find a truck driver with a criminal background. This was just the actions of an idiot who couldn't drive his Saab between the lines.
Why not drive carefully period. Im on the road a lot and 99% of the morons I see driving like idiots are in cars not Semis.
@Dieseldog I drove a semi for over ten years, and never an accident. Eveything I saw was by cars not paying attention or not driving safe. Every vehicle on the road has a responsibility to be as safe as they can be for themselves and others.
Couldnt agree more. My wife was rear ended at 60 by a kid driving his dads Buick. The kid gets out and calls his dad and doesnt even check on my wife whos still trapped in the car injured. It was a man driving a semi that stopped and helped my wife until the medics arrived. The dumbass kid that hit her didnt seem to give a rip. Im glad I wasnt there, I would likely be incarcurated right now.Â
@grayfox
That is a pretty broad brush you are using.... Most of them probably have criminal records too... My sisters do not have criminal records thank you.. and are competent truck drivers. As Scared Citezen points out, this had nothing to do with the truck driver, other than he ran into the idiot who couldn't maintain control of his CAR...
@grayfox  Did you read the article? This had nothing to do with the semi or its driver EXCEPT that it was the vehicle that this SAAB and its driver  crossed in front of. There would have been a catastrophic crash no matter what other vehicle was there but then maybe there would have been more than just this idiot that would have been hurt. Why do you need to make this about 18 wheelers and/or their drivers? The drivers I know are hard working people.
Drive like a moron, get rolled on. Ain't nobody got time for that!
@dgruntled That woman was flat out funny!
I wish I could say that this might wake up some of the idiots out there that drive like morons, but it wont. What makes someone drive like a complete jerk and play Russian roulet with other peoples lives? I see it everyday, texting, tailgating , lane changing with no signals. This POS did this to himself, Im glad he didnt hurt or kill an innocent person.
@Dieseldog My Wife and I get a kick out of watching what drivers are doing in their cars other than driving their car.
Most recently we saw a guy on 405 using skype on his smartphone to video chat with someone. Â He was holding his phone over the center of the steering wheel with the video facing him. Â He was making all kinds of animated gestures during the conversation. Â It was easy to see because it was at night, the phone glowed nice and bright!
Also, in the same week, we saw someone driving in the far left lane (carpool lane) on I-90 heading west on mercer island, but they were going about 40mph during light traffic. Â It was a car full of people, all 4 (including driver) on their cellphones.
A few days later, on 167 going north near Renton is a car driving in the left lane/carpool lane on a spare tire with hazards on going 45mph during light traffic, making a huge backup behind them (thanks to that double-white line that you are not suppose to cross). Â Oh yeah, that driver was also on their cellphone with other people in the car.
We've seen drivers writing with a pen/pencil on a notepad while driving.  There's the usual makeup applying and  shaving while driving activities.  Then there's the car that just drifts across the lanes of freeway with no signal, cutting cars all all the while holding his cellphone up to the left side of his head, completely oblivious to everyone around him (also on hwy 167, this time going south near Auburn/hwy 18). Â
Every day we seen dozens and dozens of drivers doing anything other than driving. Â If anyone ever asks me what I think is wrong with this country, there's only one answer - Â Complete lack of responsibility and major self-entitlement.
@Landshark I saw someone reading a book while driving on I-90 once. I kid you not.Â
I know it drives me nuts.
And that, goys and birls, is why you give semis a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide berth.
Can somebody tell me where there's a 375th Street exit on I-5 in Federal Way? The only 2 exits in Federal Way are 320th and Hwy 18.
@Zoso They are talking about the 375th St overpass.  Not an exit.  It's visible in the WSDOT photos.
@sleever Well I see they updated it. Now it's by KOMO staff and not the AP as it was in the original draft. Anyway, yeah I looked that on the map to figure out exactly what they were talking about.
@Zoso I think there is one at 272nd, but hey, what's 103 blocks anyway?
@70MonteCarlo LOL! Yeah there's that too. I didn't count that one since it's right on the border with Kent I believe.
@Zoso There isn't one. It's an AP article. Never trust anything from them.Â
@lakeview Yeah I actually scrolled back up just to find out who wrote it. Not surprising.