Three people killed in wrong-way crash on I-5 in south Thurston County
Mar 16, 2025, 10:22 AM | Updated: 10:55 am
Three people died in a head-on crash on northbound I-5 near the Scatter Creek Rest Area in south Thurston County. (Photo: Washington State Patrol)
(Photo: Washington State Patrol)
The Washington State Patrol reports a horrific crash on northbound I-5 that took three lives Sunday morning was caused by a driving going the wrong way on the freeway.
It happened around 6 a.m. at Scatter Creek, at milepost 91, just north of the Grand Mound area.
Investigators say three vehicles were involved in two separate collisions, but the three people killed all died in the initial head-on crash.
Both vehicles involved in the first collision blocked the roadway after the impact.
Police say after that, the driver of a third vehicle could not stop in time to avoid hitting one of the two blocking cars.
The crash blocked all lanes of northbound I-5, and the state patrol asked northbound drivers to proceed slowly through the area.
The state patrol detoured traffic through the Scatter Creek rest area.
The southbound lanes were not affected.
Medics, fire crews, an Incident Response Team and state troopers all responded to the crash.
Investigators say the driver of the third vehicle was not impaired and not seriously hurt.
The state patrol says it will release other information about the crash as the investigation continues.
