A seven-vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 5 in SeaTac killed a 68-year-old woman and injured seven other people on Thursday night, November 12, in a chain of collisions that the Washington State Patrol says began when a speeding Auburn driver changed lanes near South 200th Street.
Source: Issaquah Reporter (Kent Reporter)
Troopers responded at about 9:29 p.m. to the crash on the northbound lanes of I-5 near South 200th Street in SeaTac, in King County just south of Seattle and close to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport corridor, according to the Washington State Patrol. The roadway stayed blocked for about seven hours and 19 minutes overnight while troopers investigated and the wreckage was cleared.
How the crash unfolded, according to the State Patrol
The State Patrol said the 23-year-old Auburn man, who was not injured, was reportedly speeding in a 2014 Lexus IS 250 sedan as he approached South 200th Street in lane five of five. Three other vehicles were also in lane five at the time, and the remaining vehicles were in lanes one, two and four.
Source: Issaquah Reporter (Kent Reporter)
According to the patrol's account, the Auburn man made a lane change and struck a vehicle in lane two — identified in a second local report as a Toyota Prius — and then struck a vehicle in lane one, described in that report as a Toyota Sienna minivan, pushing it into lane five. Three of those vehicles then struck the van travelling in lane five, which was carrying a driver and four passengers. One of the vehicles was pushed into lane four, where it was struck by another vehicle.
Source: The B-Town (Burien) Blog
The Lexus crossed a grassy median and came to rest on the entrance ramp to northbound I-5 from South 200th Street. One vehicle came to rest on the right shoulder, four vehicles came to rest in lane five, and one vehicle came to rest across lanes three and four. Five of the seven vehicles were totaled, including the Lexus.
The woman who died, and the seven people injured
The woman who was killed was a 68-year-old passenger from China travelling in the van, the State Patrol said. The van's driver and three other passengers were injured and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. A driver and a passenger in another vehicle were also injured and taken to Harborview, and one more driver was injured and treated at the scene — six people taken to Harborview in total, and seven injured in all. Neither report named the woman who died or the other people involved.
Source: Issaquah Reporter (Kent Reporter)
Charges the patrol report lists — and what is not alleged
The State Patrol's report lists potential charges of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and reckless driving for the 23-year-old Auburn man. Troopers cited speed as the cause of the crash, and the patrol reported that drugs and alcohol were not involved. These are potential charges listed in the patrol's report, not a conviction: any formal charging decision rests with prosecutors, and the driver is presumed innocent unless and until charges are filed and proven in court.
Source: The B-Town (Burien) Blog
Washington State Patrol troopers cited speed as the cause of the seven-vehicle crash. The patrol said drugs and alcohol were not involved.
Why this stretch of I-5 matters to so many readers
Interstate 5 is the West Coast's main north-south artery, running from the Mexican border to Canada through San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland and Seattle. The SeaTac stretch carries airport traffic, commuters between Tacoma and Seattle, and heavy long-haul truck traffic — including many Punjabi truckers who drive the I-5 corridor every week. An overnight closure of more than seven hours on this stretch delays freight and airport journeys across the whole region, even when it happens late at night.
Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where six of the injured were taken, is the region's best-known major trauma hospital and the facility Washington State Patrol troopers routinely name in the most serious King County crashes — which is why its name in a patrol report is itself a sign of how serious the injuries were considered to be.
What happens next
The State Patrol's investigation into the exact sequence of the crash continues. The next steps are the patrol's completed report, a prosecutorial review of the potential charges the report lists, and the formal identification of the woman who died through the usual King County processes. Until those steps are complete, the full official account — including any statement from the driver — is not yet public. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the patrol or prosecutors release more.
For drivers on I-5 this winter, the facts of this crash carry a plain lesson the patrol repeats after every fatal collision: on wet November roads, at night, speed turns one lane change into a seven-vehicle chain reaction. Slowing down is the one factor entirely in a driver's own hands.