Northbound I-5 accident backs up traffic

LYNNWOOD — A multi-car accident on northbound I-5 backed up afternoon traffic for more than six miles.

Four cars and a motorcycle were involved in the chain-reaction accident that occurred about 4:20 p.m. just south of 196th Street SW on the freeway, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.

Three people were hurt but none seriously, he said. The driver of the last car involved in the crash was arrested for drunken driving, Leary said.

Rescue crews had to cut open the top of one of the cars, which was on its side in a ditch, Edmonds Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Allison said.

All lanes of I-5 were blocked for about 10 minutes as rescue crews and police cleaned up the mess, Leary said.

Still, the traffic backup extended south toward Seattle for hours, state Department of Transportation officials said.

“It had to happen Friday at rush hour; those always aren’t fun,” Leary said.

Mountlake Terrace: Fire damages home

An early morning electrical fire caused about $50,000 damage to a Mountlake Terrace home Friday, officials said.

A smoke alarm woke up the woman who lived in the home and she and her three cats escaped without injury, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.

“We are always telling people that smoke alarms save lives, and this is an excellent example,” she said.

Crews were called just after midnight to the home in the 23900 block of 56th Avenue W., Hynes said. Firefighters contained the blaze to a bedroom.

Oak Harbor: Police investigate theft

Island County sheriff’s deputies seized about $3,400 worth of methamphetamine in two arrests Thursday.

Deputies served search warrants at homes in Oak Harbor and Greenbank, arresting three people and recovering about 60 grams of methamphetamine, about $3,400 in cash, scales, packaging materials and a sawed-off shotgun, sheriff’s detective Ed Wallace said.

The three people arrested are high-level drug dealers known for selling large quantities of methamphetamine, he said.

Oak Harbor police assisted with the arrests. The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are likely, Wallace said.

Everett: Police investigate theft

Everett police detectives are seeking the public’s help in identifying any merchants who may have employed or any financial institutions that may have opened accounts for a woman they believe stole as much as $500,000.

On Oct. 18, police arrested Linda Hinds for investigation of identity theft and forgery. She’s suspected of stealing as much as $500,000 from California businesses, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.

Hinds had lived in the Tacoma area until early October, he said. While there, she allegedly used someone else’s identification to make purchases from a cell phone company. She may have used one of the following aliases: Jacqueline Chu, Lauren Chu, Catalina Hsu, Line Hso, Lori J. Hughes, Lina Hsu, Lina Su or Lianna Heintz.

She was arrested in Mill Creek.

Detectives have identified Hinds as allegedly being in possession of more than 25 Social Security numbers and three passports under various names, Goetz said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Everett police Sgt. Mark Thacker at 425–257–8419.

Gold Bar: Firefighters arrive in California

A crew of firefighters from Getchell and Gold Bar who drove down to southern California arrived Thursday evening.

The firefighters are part of a Washington state team that left Monroe on Wednesday and arrived about 27 hours later in Chino, Calif., Getchell Fire Capt. Jeremy Stocker said on Friday.

The firefighters were awaiting the arrival of six more teams from Washington, Oregon and Idaho and expected to hit the fire lines near El Cajon today. They were told they’d likely be working a 24-hour shift to help battle the wildfires blazing since earlier this week.

Stocker said his crews saw columns of smoke and at least six houses that had been destroyed by the fire.

From Herald staff reports