A four-vehicle crash involving a Vancouver man driving a tractor-trailer on southbound Interstate 5 near Chehalis left another driver with life-threatening injuries.
The Vancouver man was identified in a Washington State Patrol accident report as 41-year-old David A. Hawkins, who was injured, though not seriously.
The early Tuesday morning crash was near Labree Road south of Chehalis and closed all southbound lanes and two northbound lanes of I-5 from about 4:15 to 11:25 a.m., said Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn. Traffic backed up for at least two miles in the southbound lanes.
Here’s what’s known about the crash, according to Finn and the accident report:
A pickup truck carrying construction materials and driven by James P. Holmes, 54, of Centralia, lost control and hit the jersey barrier between the north and southbound lanes of the freeway. The truck was disabled; it also pushed the barrier into the northbound lanes.
Hawkins’ tractor-trailer struck the disabled truck, propelling the truck into another lane of the freeway where a second tractor-trailer struck it. The truck rolled and caught fire.
Finn said it’s unknown if the driver of the second tractor-trailer involved in the crash did not have enough time to react or was unable to see in the dark. It was driven by Warren E. Cortesi, 62.
The accident report said it’s unknown if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.
Holmes suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. His condition is currently unknown. According to a story posted by The Chronicle in Lewis County, an off-duty Seattle firefighter stopped and pulled the driver from the flaming truck.
Hawkins was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital. Finn said he suffered a head injury and was likely disoriented.
Cortesi, the driver of the second tractor-trailer, was uninjured.
The incident was made worse when a car carrying three people northbound on I-5 struck the jersey barrier. A single person in that car was taken to the Centralia hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Several issues caused longer-than-normal lane closures.
The pickup was carrying construction materials, including nails and screws, which scattered across the southbound lanes during its rollover, and one of the tractor-trailers was hauling hazardous, corrosive materials. A hazmat team responded to the scene of the crash and confirmed the materials had stayed secure.
