MARYSVILLE — A wrong-way driver was killed after a collision on I-5 in Marysville early Friday morning, backing up traffic for hours.

The crash occurred around 5:10 a.m. just north of Fourth Street, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said. It blocked all southbound lanes.

The dead man was identified as an Everett resident, 43. His name was not released pending notification of his family. Troopers did not speculate whether alcohol played a role in the crash.

The man was driving a 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo northbound in the freeway’s southbound lanes, Leary said.

He died after colliding with a 1997 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by a Marysville man, 54, and a 2007 Dodge Caliber driven by a Stanwood woman, 33.

The injured were transported to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

Leary said it is unclear how far the man had been driving the wrong way on I-5.
The patrol released recordings of 911 calls from people who encountered the wrong-way driver.

One caller reported the driver entered I-5 by driving the wrong way up the Fourth Street offramp.

Another said the wayward car was “weaving in and out of cars, not even braking.”

Exactly where the man merged onto I-5 remains under investigation, Leary said.
The accident snarled the Friday morning commute, causing a four-mile backup on I-5 and choking backroads and sidestreets.

Nadine Williams, a server at Bob’s Burgers and Brew in Tulalip, said some guests decided to wait it out in the restaurant. She heard news about the accident before her shift and was able to get to the restaurant using back roads.

“Others said it’s a mess out there,” Williams said.

Isaac Johnson, manager at Home Depot in Tulalip, said the store opens at 6 a.m.

“Contractors are here first thing,” Johnson said. “They are saying they had some difficulty getting here.”

He said back roads are open to his store and that folks are exiting at 88th Street off I-5.

“When something like this happens, you just have to have patience,” he said.