Steel cable barricades focus of deadly I-5 crash

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, May 31, 2005

MARYSVILLE – For the second time in five months, state traffic officials are investigating whether safety cable barriers that divide I-5 in Marysville work.

The scrutiny comes after a Marysville family was killed Monday when a southbound pickup hauling a 30-foot recreational trailer crossed the median and crashed into family’s car and several others.

Investigators believe another southbound vehicle braked hard in front of the pickup truck, causing the driver to hit the brakes and lose control.

Darrell Knapp, 41, and his wife Sandra Knapp, 42, died at the scene. Their son Noah, 6, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he later died.

Mark Leuning, 19, Eldon Leuning, 60, and Elwood Leuning, 87, all of Bothell, were driving in another vehicle that was hit by the pickup. The older men were treated and released from Everett Providence Medical Center.

Mark Leuning was transferred to Harborview’s intensive care unit. The extent of his injuries was not released, due to federal medical privacy laws.

“It is a tragedy. We have to take a look at what’s out there and see if we need to make any improvements,” said Dave McCormick, assistant regional administrator with the state Department of Transportation.

The cable barrier was selected to prevent crossover accidents. Other options included concrete barriers and guardrails.

Traffic officials say the cables are less likely to cause injuries when struck, because they absorb the impact. They also are less expensive to install and maintain.

“We have felt that the cable barriers are the right solution for I-5. Hundreds of accidents have been avoided since we installed them,” said Doug McDonald, secretary of the state Department of Transportation.

The steel cables are 21/2 feet tall and run in the median along a 10-mile stretch of I-5 north of Marysville. It is one of three locations in the state where cable barriers are used. Others are near Vancouver and south of Seattle. DOT plans to install more around the state.

The number of accidents have increased on those stretches of freeway, but the number of fatalities and serious injury accidents have dropped, according to a transportation study released in November 2003.

The barriers are tested to meet the national standard of being able to control a vehicle when struck at a 25-degree angle at 62 mph. A 4,400-pound truck and an 1,800-pound car are used in the tests.

The Ford pickup and fifth-wheel trailer in the accident likely weighed more than 12,000 pounds. The speed along that road is 70 mph. Investigators didn’t know how fast the truck was going or the angle of impact.

“In this instance a concrete barrier might not have stopped the vehicle,” McDonald said, adding that it’s too early to say what happened in this case.

It appears that the truck and trailer went through the cable barrier, he said.

Traffic investigators examined the same cable barrier several miles north when it failed to stop a southbound Ford Explorer in December.

The sport utility vehicle crossed two lanes of traffic on I-5 and struck a northbound Chevy Suburban. Megan Holschen, 18, was killed in the fiery crash, which injured other members of her family.

Traffic engineers examined the barrier and concluded that it didn’t fail within its capabilities. The Explorer snapped the metal clamps that keep the cable anchored to a concrete block, McCormick said.

“It wasn’t a flaw in the cable. It met the strength criteria. The impact was just so great,” he said.

Traffic officials say they are awaiting more information from the Washington State Patrol to determine what happened in Monday’s crash. They also are working with troopers to determine if the speed limit along that stretch of road needs to be reduced to 60 mph.

“In the last couple of years I can think of a minimum of six (crashes) that the cars went through the cable barriers,” trooper Lance Ramsay said. “We very interested in getting together with DOT to see if it’s an educational, enforcement or engineering problem in this area.”