SEATTLE — All lanes of southbound Interstate 5 were closed for nearly five hours after a fatal crash early Tuesday.
Only the right lane remains closed at Northgate Way as of 12:30 p.m.
The crash at Northeast Northgate Way happened at around 3:30 a.m. and involved two semitrucks and two cars, according to Trooper Rick Johnson. It’s still unclear what caused the crash, but Johnson said one of the cars caused a semitruck to hit a pole, which fell onto the interstate.
Traffic was diverted off the mainline and then back using the collector-distributor lane that’s connected to the Northgate Way exit.
Johnson said the male driver of one of the cars was arrested and booked into King County Jail for vehicular homicide.
The person who was killed, later identified by Washington State Patrol as 47-year-old Sarbjit Chauhan of Surrey, British Columbia, was the driver of one of the semitrucks. He was not wearing a seat belt.
No other injuries were reported.
Medics, Washington State Patrol and firefighters were at the scene.
At one point, traffic was backed up for 6 miles.
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