Rolled semi-truck creates 10-mile backup on I-5 through Seattle
Apr 5, 2012, 1:17 PM | Updated: 8:04 pm
All lanes of southbound I-5 were blocked at I-90 in
Seattle
for a rolled semi-truck causing a ten mile backup
that stretched past Northgate during the Thursday afternoon commute.
Fire and road crews rushed to the scene. The semi-truck has
been up-righted and cleared just before 4 p.m., according to 97.3 KIRO FM
traffic reporter
Kimi
Kline.
One person was pinned in their car, and had to be removed by fire and rescue.
KIRO-TV reports the semi-truck directly impacted a sedan, while a pickup truck was also on its side.
Fuel spilled onto the interstate, but was cleared before WSDOT reopened the road to traffic.
The Seattle Fire Department reports four people have been taken to the hospital and are all are in stable condition.
Even after the accident was cleared, backups remained through much of the afternoon. The Washington State Department of Transportation
recommended
using the collector distributor lanes to get around, “but
prepare for some unpleasant delays.”
Highway 99 is also
another alternate route, but long delays plagued the highway between the Woodland Park Zoo and the Battery Street Tunnel. A car fire on Western compounded traffic issues on SR-99, allowing only one southbound lane to get cars through.
