Wrong-way vehicle on I-5 hits oncoming vehicle, injures driver, troopers say
A wrong-way driver on Interstate 5 was detained on suspicion of vehicular assault after hitting another vehicle early Sunday south of Lakewood, according to the Washington State Patrol.
About 4:39 a.m., troopers received a call of a car headed south in the northbound lanes of I-5 at the Berkeley Avenue exit, State Patrol spokeswoman Brooke Bova said.
Two miles later, the 41-year-old Lakewood man’s vehicle hit a northbound vehicle near the exit for the Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s main gate, Bova said.
That driver, a 24-year-old Lacey man, suffered fractured bones in his left foot.
The suspected wrong-way driver fled the scene, Bova said, but troopers and Pierce County sheriff’s deputies took him into custody and transported him to St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood to conduct a blood draw to test for intoxicants.
Two northbound lanes of I-5 were closed for more than four hours because of the crash.
“We’re pretty lucky for this one,” Bova said. “A broken foot is pretty lucky for a wrong-way (crash).”
Kenny Ocker: 253-597-8627, @KennyOcker
This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 7:50 AM with the headline "Wrong-way vehicle on I-5 hits oncoming vehicle, injures driver, troopers say."