Wrong-way I-5 driver may have had medical issue before crash

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, February 9, 2021

EVERETT — A wrong-way driver suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash Tuesday morning on northbound I-5, just south of the exit to Broadway and 41st Street, the Washington State Patrol said.

The crash was reported around 9:30 a.m. after a 1998 Toyota Camry entered I-5 at 41st Street heading south in the northbound lanes, according to State Patrol trooper Rocky Oliphant. The driver reportedly knocked over signs as she entered the on-ramp.

She drove less than a mile before crashing head-on into another sedan.

The wrong-way driver was transported to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and was being monitored by a trooper. The other driver had minor injuries.

Four of five lanes of the freeway were closed during the two-hour investigation. The traffic backup stretched past Highway 526.

By 11:30 a.m., all lanes of I-5 were reopened to traffic.

Trooper Oliphant said the driver did not appear to be impaired and investigators believe the woman may have suffered a medical incident.