Vancouver man killed by semi on I-5 indentified

The person killed after being struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 5 late Monday night has been identified as a Vancouver man.

Nathan J. Carlson, 43, had been driving a pickup south on I-5 near Hazel Dell when, for an unknown reason, he left his vehicle and stood in the right center lane, Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn said. A tractor-trailer struck and instantly killed Carlson at about 11:30 p.m. near the Northeast 63rd Street overpass, Finn said.

Bharat Kumar, the driver of the 2015 Volvo tractor-trailer, told troopers that he saw the unoccupied pickup strike a jersey barrier, Finn said. A short time after Kumar’s rig struck Carlson, a 2008 Kia Spectra driven by Diane A. Ferdig, 46, of Washougal passed through the scene and hit Carlson again, Finn said.

Kumar and Ferdig were not injured, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Finn said. At the scene, both drivers were evaluated by a drug-recognition expert who determined they were not impaired.

Based on preliminary information, troopers originally said that Carlson exited his vehicle while it was moving, Finn said. However, troopers learned from family that the pickup may have had maintenance issues so it may have been stopped on the side of the road and continued moving somehow, Finn said.

“All we know is what happened to him and his vehicle,” Finn said. “It’s impossible for us to know exactly what the intentions were.”