Three Friday-morning crashes serve as a good reminder to be careful driving in the rain, Washington State Patrol said.
At 9:30 a.m., a Battle Ground woman was injured when her car went into a ditch, according to a WSP bulletin.
Suzan Brice, 54, was driving her 2005 Dodge Ram pickup west on Highway 502 in Ridgefield when she took the onramp to southbound Interstate 5 and failed to negotiate a curve to the right, the bulletin said. The Dodge ended up in a ditch.
Brice was taken by ambulance to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. Her damaged car was towed from the scene.
Speed caused the collision, the bulletin said.
A one-car, minor-injury accident around 10:30 a.m. blocked the left lane of Interstate 5 northbound, just south of Woodland, said Trooper Will Finn, local WSP spokesman. Traffic was backed up three or four miles, to the La Center exit, he said.
About 10 minutes later, a three-car crash noninjury crash on the ramp from Mill Plain Boulevard to Interstate 205 north blocked traffic, Finn said. Several other fender-benders occurred Friday.
Finn said people should slow down, take time and let space open up behind the vehicle ahead while driving in the rain.
After 81 days without measurable rain, lots of oily residue has settled into crevices of the road surface and now floats on top of the water, making the roads slick.
