Man struck, killed while walking on I-5 near Boeing Field
TUKWILA, Wash. - A man walking north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 early Thursday has died after he was struck by a car traveling at about 60 mph, the Washington State Patrol reports.
The incident began at about 1:30 a.m. when several motorists called 911 to report a man walking or running along I-5 near mid-Boeing Field.
State troopers responded to the area to look for the man, but before they could locate him he was struck by a 2010 Hyundai Sonata traveling south at about 60 mph. The impact shattered the front windshield of the car.
The victim, identified as a 47-year-old Seattle man, had only a faint pulse when medics arrived at the scene. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries.
The driver of the car, a 46-year-old Auburn man, was very shaken up but sustained only a minor injury to his hand. He was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and no charges will be filed, the State Patrol reports.
Two southbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed for about two hours as state troopers investigated the crash.
The incident began at about 1:30 a.m. when several motorists called 911 to report a man walking or running along I-5 near mid-Boeing Field.
State troopers responded to the area to look for the man, but before they could locate him he was struck by a 2010 Hyundai Sonata traveling south at about 60 mph. The impact shattered the front windshield of the car.
The victim, identified as a 47-year-old Seattle man, had only a faint pulse when medics arrived at the scene. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries.
The driver of the car, a 46-year-old Auburn man, was very shaken up but sustained only a minor injury to his hand. He was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and no charges will be filed, the State Patrol reports.
Two southbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed for about two hours as state troopers investigated the crash.
Was this the same person I heard about this morning who committed suicide on the highway because his employer refused to pay for surgery he needed because he'd injured his back at work and was in horrible pain and on painkillers? Anyway, it's a heckuva sad story, no matter what. My condolences to this man's family, the driver and his family as well.
to all that have posted you dont know the whole story so you should not comment on this stuff and i am sorry to the driver of the car
Itâs too bad that the story doesnât indicate whether or not the I-5 pedestrian was (perhaps) leaving his stalled vehicle.  However, it is reported that he was walking/running against the traffic flow, which means that if his car stalled, that he would have had to cross I-5 and then head to the nearest exit. Was the deceased just another zombie?....or was he trying to get assistance? Poor driver â¦.I just canât imagine cruizinâ up I-5 and all of the sudden a zombie appears in front of youâ¦â¦.these incidents are becoming quite frequent lately, so I guess I should therefore expect pedestrians on I-5 ? And one other thingâ¦what was wrong with the driver of the vehicle that killed the â pedestrianâ?? Did the deceased just run out in the lane like a deer???
You want to improve education in this state? Try introducing a 2 yr required class in high school on COMMON SENSE! Somehow since the 70's that has been poorly lost on the young.
 @clearthinker2 Seriously! Or, teach them "Real life" or "being responsible"...the list goes on. Great, they get out of school and can read and write and add, but they can't figure out how to get a real job or make a living or do things that they need to do to be successful.Â
 @PacificNWlover  @clearthinker2 Considering common sense actually isn't common and is geographically specific, you find a lack of it even in full grown adults out of the 70s or earlier you should be a little more tolerant and let the young have their own foibles just as you did. You should also read the entire article, the man was 47 making his birth year at least 1967, definitely not a young-in by any standard. It also doesn't say why he was walking along I-5 so you really don't have enough data to pass such judgements on him, I hope you never have to pull off to the side of the road on a highway or interstate for any reason, it's terrifying to even open the door and heaven forbid your broke down or out of gas and lacking a mobile.
WOW, lots of arm chair CSIs who are reading impaired.
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I read the story and no the driver that struck the illegal pedestrian was not speeding and no the driver that struck the illegal pedestrian was not drinking or high on drugs.
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Lets be clear, the victim here is not the guy who was killed because he was walking in the travel lanes of an interstate in the middle of the night. There are things you're taught very young.
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1) Don't put your hand on a hot stove
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2) Don't take candy from strangers driving white vans with no windows
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3) Don't talk back to adults
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4) Don't play in the middle of the street
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The victim is an innocent, sober, legally driving citizen who now has to live with the fact they accidentally killed a man that didn't belong on the interstate in the first place.
Unless your car is broke down on the freeway, the only other likely reason to be walking along an interstate is suicidal ideation or adverse mental health.
Not so wise to walk across the Highway.....especially we have too many SPEEDERS these days !
 @scychan What would it matter if the driver was speeding? I guarantee you, a pedestrian is going to lose if anyone hits them at freeway speed.  Whether it was 60 or 80 is irrelevant except the guy would have died instantly if hit at 80.  Instead, he got to live with it for awhile.
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As for why the guy was on the freeway, drugs or mental illness seem to be at play here. Â Being hit by a car is not a popular way to commit suicide and unless the guy was hit on the shoulder, I doubt he had a disabled vehicle and was walking for help.
 @scychan Let me guess... you are a fast lane sitter?
 @scychan The story states the driver was traveling the speed limit - so what's your point.
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It wouldn't matter if everyone drove 20 MPH under the speed limit, sane, sober, rational people do not walk on the interstate in travel lanes in the middle of the night!
Seems it always comes back to justifing driving and drinking, seems this state has a serious drinking problem when it comes to many drivers..
@Windowseat I guess you missed the part where it says: "He was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and no charges will be filed, the State Patrol reports"
 @dkgiovenco @northwestsurfer The driver of the Sonata was who the WSP intended as not under the influence.
@Brewin4u @dkgiovenco @dkgiovenco @northwestsurferÂ
I think the police would be able to determine IF the driver was under the influence; which is part of any fatality collision.
 @cclngthr  @dkgiovenco  @northwestsurfer And if the driver had been drinking, would charges have been filed? Even if the person was under the legal limit? The dude walking down the middle of the road would be dead either way.  Weird that someone could potentially face charges if some knucklehead is in the lane of travel, in the dark...
Zombie control....one "walker" at a time.
 @TreeTopFlyer dislike
Walking on I5 ... Sounds like a suicide to me! There is no cure for stupidity and I hope the driver who hit the man recovers from the emotional scaring the victim caused by walking where they should not have been!
Yes, why in the heck are you walking along I-5!Â
I feel so bad for the driver of the vehicle. I could not imagine hitting someone let alone doing it at 60mph. It happened at 1:30 in the morning, in the pitch black, and raining. Must have scared the beegeebees out of the driver. Poor guy.
Poor driver, so sad, RIP
 #1 - no walking on the freeway. #2 - you certainly don't walk on the freeway in the opposite direction to the flow of traffic. #3- this happened in Tukwila? Shocking. The intellectual level in that area seems to hover in the double digits.
 @dgruntled #2 if you have to walk on the freeway which can happen, it is better to walk in opposite direction so you can see oncoming traffic, and traffic can see you earlier too - same is true for walking on any road #3 IQ of 99 is double digits and right en par with average.
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We have not enough information to know what happened.Â
 @Komo Dragon  @dgruntled Exactly - I run facing traffic because people are crazy and it's easier to see if you need to jump out of the way.  Not enough info here, he could have been in the shoulder,  maybe his car broke down, could be several things.  Very sad for the deceased man and also for the poor guy who hit him.
 @caphillkid I see a whole lot of people breaking the law, if that's the case.  Most don't pay with their lives like this pour soul though.
 @Doxie You always walk or jog against traffic. It's not only common sense, but I think it's the law.
 @dgruntled It sounds a bit like suicide, which has nothing to do with intelligence, but is related to mental health.
 @two loons  @dgruntled I agree with your mental health statement, however, I doubt that anyone wants to commit suicide by being run over. There is a good chance that you survive, which would be counter productive, it's painful, it can be a prolonged process in agony. I don't believe it.
I hope the driver can overcome his emotional scars from this accident. Best of luck. RIP to the one who died. Not knowing the reason he was out there, it's hard to judge what was going on.
Scary. Glad the driver was not hurt.
Society should offer a place where people can go off themselves without causing the headaches for the rest of us. The guy in the car now has to have his car repaired or replaced through no fault of his own because some nit had a death wish. Hope he has a decent insurance company that won't raise his rates because of this.
The Sonata is basically totalled. It would cost about $14,000 to repair the roof, hood and A pillars (from what I can see). There are airbags in the upper side of the car and wiring to them is in the A pillar. Have to check that as well.
I get the feeling there won't be much checking here - its a total at first sight - no investigation needed.
 @dkgiovenco @ThrobbinhoodÂ
Having had training (I am a teacher, but have taught HS auto) within the auto manufacturers service tech system, I know the roof panel can be replaced, it is a pinch seam, BUT the A pillar likely is bent, and once that is bent, it takes away the strength and structure of the roof in case it rolls over. It appears that the A pillars are bent inward to the middle about 1/4 inch or more.
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Suprizingly, the roof panel is not welded in, it comes apart easier than older cars; which the roof panel is solid seam welded in. The whole panel is from the top of the windshield to the rear window and the pinch seams are located in the area that has a plastic rain guard cover on each side of the top of the car. That takes place of the rain gutter that is usually right above the doors.
@Rider  It sounds like the poor driver had more heartache than headache. So horrible. Maybe the dead man was under the influence of drugs or something--who knows at this point if he was suicidal.
 @Rider I really hope that you understand the ridiculousness of your statement.
Took the statement too literally.
Actually, and speaking in general terms in regards to suicide (of which we have no idea if it even pertains to this particular event) - there SHOULD be places well out of the public arena where people can do their business without dragging innocents into their personal web of misery.Â
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So if the driver of the car was to have blown a .05 would it have been his fault? Shouldnt be...
 @sultan1978 I agree with you and really look down upon drunk driving. Lots of people have a beer or two before ending up at home. If they do so with some sense, and do not consume more than they should,things should be fine, but we should all be aware that if someone else causes a wreck, you will still have consequences that could be compounded if you've been drinking. I choose not to drive at all when I drink, and think that is the best choice.
 @sultan1978 My thoughts too, what if the driver had just stopped for a beer or two and was on his way home. Would he have been charged? How could he have avoided this sober much less after a beer? Dude was apparently suicidal.