MARYSVILLE — Three freeway crashes, including a rollover where both vehicles were on fire, were reported Wednesday night.
All of the collisions happened within a two-hour stretch and five miles of northbound I-5.
“It’s pretty unbelievable it all happened in two hours,” said Christie Veley, a spokeswoman for the Marysville Fire Department. “We’re very thankful there weren’t more serious injuries.”
The first collision was reported around 9:30 p.m. before the exit onto 88th Street NE. Four people were hurt and taken to a hospital. Two people were in stable condition and two had minor injuries.
Then, just over an hour later, the fiery crash happened up the road near Exit 203. Washington State Patrol trooper Heather Axtman said a backup had formed because of the earlier crash. A man driving a car wasn’t aware of the traffic and smashed into another car.
That caused both to roll over and catch fire, which spread to a large patch of grass.
“It was simply because of inattention,” Axtman said. “Thankfully, there were no significant injuries.”
Within an hour, another crash was reported near 116th Street NE. Three people were taken to a hospital in stable condition, and four had minor injuries.
Backups commonly form after a crash and with the nice weather and summer in full swing, more cars are on the road, Axtman said. That means it’s important to minimize distractions (children, food, phones) and leave a safe distance between cars.
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