MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Alcohol may be factor in wrong-way crash on I-5

Mar 2, 2012, 5:11 AM | Updated: 1:35 pm

The Washington State Patrol reports the latest incident involved a 21-year-old man from Kenmore who...

The Washington State Patrol reports the latest incident involved a 21-year-old man from Kenmore who got on I-90 going the wrong way near the I-5 interchange. The driver continued onto I-5 where he crashed into another car. (Photo courtesy Washington State Patrol)

(Photo courtesy Washington State Patrol)

A wrong-way driver slammed into another car on I-5 Friday morning in downtown Seattle.

This crash is just the latest in a string of accidents involving people heading in the wrong direction on Western Washington roads.

The Washington State Patrol reports the latest incident involved a 21-year-old man from Kenmore who got on I-90 going the wrong way near the I-5 interchange. The driver continued onto I-5 where he crashed into another car.

“At the last minute, he swerved across all the lanes into the Durango that was going southbound in the far left lane and hit her vehicle head on,” said Debby Jacobson with the Washington State Patrol.

Jacobson said the wrong-way driver was critically injured. The woman driving the Durango is expected to be OK.

This is the eighth wrong-way driving incident around our area since Christmas, including another one that happened Thursday night near Lynnwood. No one was hurt in that case.

But 14 people have been injured and one person killed in this string of wrong-way crashes.

“It’s like anything else, it just seems to be cyclical, but there’s no rhyme or reason for it,” said Jacobson.

Alcohol reportedly has been involved in several of the wrong-way collisions.

Alcohol is being looked at as a potential factor in the crash on I-5 Friday morning.

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Alcohol may be factor in wrong-way crash on I-5