Marysville accident backs up I-5 for miles

Published 11:32 pm Thursday, November 26, 2009

MARYSVILLE — Traffic on northbound I-5 backed up for miles Thursday after an early-morning crash involving a semi truck.

The semi was northbound on I-5 near exit 202 shortly after 5 a.m. when it veered off the road to the right and struck a tree, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.

The driver wasn’t seriously hurt.

“If the truck would have been 5 feet farther to the right, we could have been looking at a fatality,” Leary said.

The trailer of the truck was ripped open, he said. The cab was destroyed as well.

The truck was traveling from California to Canada, carrying cargo including food and auto parts.

Crews remained on scene for hours to clean up the spilled cargo and move the wreckage.