Federal Way Crashes Snarl Traffic On Interstate 5

FEDERAL WAY, WA — A second major crash in Federal Way kept traffic at a crawl on Interstate 5 late Thursday morning. The first collision, near South 272nd Street, blocked two northbound lanes at 4:30 a.m. and backups hit five miles by 6 a.m. Three hours later, backups stretched ten miles, extending into Fife.

As the crash at South 272nd Street cleared, another northbound collision was reported on I-5 near the 320th Street exit. According to South King Fire, 5 vehicles were involved, and three people were injured. Washington State Patrol said the causing vehicle was speeding up the left shoulder and two people ran from the scene after the crash. Both were later taken into custody.

Medics said one person had to be cut from a vehicle using the jaws of life and was taken to Harborview Medical Center with critical injuries. Two others had minor injuries.

Two northbound lanes of I-5 were blocked for several hours as the investigation continued. All lanes reopened at 1 p.m.