Two wrecks involving South Sound residents tied up Interstate 5 over the weekend.
Southbound I5 at South 72nd Street was closed early Sunday by construction and a four-car accident.
It happened just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday. According to the Washington State Patrol, three vehicles were traveling in one lane, and the first two vehicles stopped for traffic in the construction zone. The third vehicle – an Isuzu Rodeo driven by a 22-year-old Lakewood man – did not stop, striking the second vehicle and pushing it into the lead car. That car was forced over a lane, striking a truck.
A 51-year-old Tacoma woman who was driving the first vehicle struck was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma with minor injuries.
No one else was injured, the patrol said.
The driver of the Isuzu Rodeo is suspected of drunken driving and speeding. He faces a vehicular assault charge, the patrol reported.
In the second accident, a 49-year-old Puyallup man was taken to Harborview Medical Center after his motorcycle struck a guardrail on I-5 in Seattle.
The Washington State Patrol said he was merging from Michigan Street onto northbound I-5 just before 11 a.m. Saturday when he struck a concrete barrier. The man was thrown over the guardrail and landed in the HOV lane of southbound I-5.
He was wearing a helmet. The extent of his injuries is unknown. Drugs and alcohol were not believed to be involved.
Kate McEntee, staff writer
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