Updated on: 11/13/2019
Police say that a semi truck accident in Auburn on Monday fatally injured a 42-year-old man who had run into the roadway.
The Washington State Patrol (WSP) says that 42-year-old Oleg Voznyuk parked his 1993 Toyota Camry on the shoulder of SR 18 in Auburn near the SR 167 interchange just before 12:30 p.m. Monday. Trooper Julie Judson says Voznyuk exited the vehicle and started running into the highway.
“We received citizens’ calls at 12:33 p.m. about a male running in and out of traffic,” Judson said. “He decided to aggressively move in and out of traffic and before a trooper could arrive, he successfully placed himself in the path of a semi truck.”
Soon after the calls were placed, Voznyuk was struck by a tractor trailer headed eastbound. The driver of the semi truck was not injured and police were unclear if drugs or alcohol had played a factor in the incident. Witness statements indicated that the man appeared deliberate in placing himself on the roadway in front of oncoming traffic, which makes this particular incident even more confusing.
Judson also added that the collision closed down eastbound SR 18 for almost four hours due to the WSP investigation.
There aren’t enough details regarding this incident yet, but based on witness accounts of the man’s erratic behavior this doesn’t appear to be a typical traffic accident. Once the WSP’s investigation is completed, we will likely learn more about what exactly led to this unfortunate situation.