CLARK COUNTY Wash. (KPTV) - Two drivers are facing charges, one woman died and five people were hurt in two sequential crashes on Interstate 5 in Clark County on Saturday morning, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Just before 5 a.m., police responded to a crash involving a car and an SUV near milepost 11 on Interstate 5 Southbound. A passenger in the SUV, a white Chevrolet Trailblazer, died at the scene. Four other people, including both drivers, were rushed to a nearby hospital.
While officers investigated the deadly crash, the Washington State Department of Transportation closed three of four lanes, using a WSDOT truck to direct traffic.
Shortly after 7 a.m., a Rivian R1S also heading south on I-5 crashed into the WSDOT truck and injured a 45-year-old WSDOT driver sitting inside. He was also taken to a nearby hospital.
According to police, the first crash happened when the Trailblazer, driven by 23-year-old Skylar Wainis of Longview, rear-ended a blue Nissan Versa in the far right lane and then crashed into a cable barrier along the far left side of the roadway, where the Trailblazer came to a stop on the shoulder.
The Nissan Versa smashed through a fence and came to a stop on Northeast Delfel Road.
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Sadie Bobo of Portland, 19, died at the scene. Police noted that she was not wearing a seatbelt. Wainis and a second 19-year-old passenger from Portland were injured. The second passenger was also not wearing a seatbelt, police said.
A 76-year-old Beaverton man who was driving the Nissan Versa and his 69-year-old passenger, also from Beaverton, both suffered injuries. Police noted that both people in the Nissan Versa were wearing seatbelts.
All four injured people were rushed to a nearby hospital, and authorities have not released any information on their conditions.
Police said drugs or alcohol were a factor in the first crash, and Wainis faces charges of vehicular homicide and assault.
Meanwhile, police said the Rivian R1S driver who crashed into the WSDOT truck was distracted and using a personal electronic device as he approached the scene of the first crash about two hours later.
The Rivian driver, 20-year-old Noam Wecksler of Portland, was unhurt. He faces charges of second-degree negligent driving, violation of road closure, driving too fast for conditions and using his personal device.
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