Logs broke through cab of semi when two trucks collide on I-5 in Tacoma

Two logging trucks collided on Interstate 5 in Tacoma on Thursday morning, sending giant logs through the cab of one truck and seriously injuring the other truck’s driver.

The crash took place about 10 a.m. on northbound Interstate 5 near state Route 16. The lanes were blocked for five hours before reopening.

The two trucks were both in the middle lane of I-5 approaching the 38th Street exit when they encountered heavy traffic, according to a Washington State Patrol news release. The first truck slowed for the traffic, but the second truck was unable to slow down quickly enough and ran into the first truck’s loaded trailer, sending logs into the second truck’s cab.

The driver of the second truck, a 34-year-old man from Rainier, Oregon, was somehow uninjured in the wreck despite the logs entering his cab, the release stated. The driver of the first truck, a 63-year-old Vader man, was seriously injured and transported to Tacoma General Hospital, where he was in stable condition, according to the Tacoma Fire Department.

The Rainier man was cited for speeding, the news release stated.

Northbound traffic backed up all the way into Lakewood.

This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Logs broke through cab of semi when two trucks collide on I-5 in Tacoma."