Updated on: 2/26/2019
A motor vehicle accident on Interstate 5 in downtown Seattle involving a charter bus and a semi truck left multiple bus passengers and other drivers with serious injuries and caused a major backup in traffic on the highway Thursday afternoon.
According to news reports and officials with the Seattle Fire Department, the accident happened just after noon on I-5 near the West Seattle Freeway off-ramp. Officials with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) say that the semi truck was merging onto I-5 from the West Seattle Bridge when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle, which caused the semi truck to crash into two passenger cars in addition to the charter bus.
The collision resulted in major backups in traffic and caused two of the left lanes of Interstate 5 to be shut down temporarily. Police say that one person sustained critical injuries and four others were seriously injured, and they were all transported to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for their injuries. The remaining two patients were taken to Viriginia Mason and Swedish Hospital.
Weather Contributes to Semi Truck Collisions
News reports indicate that most of the accident victims were complaining of neck and back pain, which are common ailments that often affect victims of motor vehicle collisions. Because of the difference in size between a standard motor vehicle and a semi truck, the victims should consider themselves fortunate to have escaped without more serious injuries.
Thursday’s accident was the second involving a semi truck in the previous week in the Seattle area. On Monday August 26, a 24-year-old woman was waiting for police assistance in her vehicle on Interstate 405 after striking a deer when a semi truck crashed into her vehicle unexpectedly. Police were en-route to help the woman move her vehicle from the roadway when the accident occurred, and she was pronounced dead when they arrived on the scene.
The truck driver, 28-year-old Kulwinder Singh of Blaine, was interviewed by officials with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) after the crash and was cooperative with investigators. Police did not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident.