By Cathy Logg
Herald Writer
One person was killed, 10 others were injured and still more played bumper cars Tuesday as rain, slick roads and a fuel spill combined to make Snohomish County roads the wrong places to be.
A 43-year-old Anacortes man died at 12:53 p.m. on I-5 when his northbound 1997 Nissan pickup ran off the road at Highway 532, crossed the median and drove into the path of a southbound semi-truck, troopers said. His name was being withheld until relatives could be notified. The truck driver was taken to Cascade Valley Hospital for observation.
Troopers closed the southbound lanes for about three hours, Washington State Patrol Trooper Lance Ramsay said.
At 11 a.m., nine people, ranging in age from 18 months to 60 years, were injured in an accident on I-5 southbound just south of 220th Street. Eight of those were taken to Northwest Hospital in Seattle. Their conditions were unavailable Tuesday night.
That six-vehicle crash began with a southbound car and pickup colliding. A third vehicle had stopped to help when another pickup truck hit one of the crashed vehicles along with two other vehicles. That led to the driver of the third vehicle, who had gotten out to help, being struck, too.
In a separate incident, crews shut down the freeway ramps to and from southbound I-5 at 220th Street in Mountlake Terrace when a semi-truck jackknifed on the southbound offramp about 4 p.m. and began leaking diesel fuel. The truck continued to leak fuel over a 10-block area as it traveled west on 220th and down two other streets, Leslie Hynes, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman said.
"The combination of fuel and heavy rain made the off-ramp and roads like an ice rink for motorists," Hynes said. "Cars were sliding into each other. There were a few fender-benders, but nothing serious and no injuries."
The roads remained closed into the evening as crews continued to cleanup.
Another two-vehicle crash, which occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Highway 532 just west of I-5, injured one person, who was treated and later released from Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon.
You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437
or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.
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