Tag: traffic jams

By Caleb Hutton

A crash on southbound Interstate 5 near the Slater Road exit Saturday afternoon, Aug. 18, left one person with minor injuries and slowed traffic.

Report of teen injured but conscious in southbound I-5 crash, south of Slater Road exit. See @wsdot_traffic cams. ow.ly/d46n4

— Bellingham Herald (@BhamHerald) August 18, 2012

Over the police scanner, I heard an 18-year-old man had suffered an injury to his head and was bleeding, but he was conscious.

As bad as that might sound at first blush, a hurried Washington State Patrol trooper told me the injuries were minor. If the teen was taken to the hospital, it would have only been as a precaution, said Sgt. Kirk Rudeen.

Nonethless, the crash stalled traffic for at least a half an hour. Within a few minutes the right lane was reopened, and cars were able to crawl through.

Department of Transportation cams showed a big traffic jam, backed up past the Smith Road overpass. And on the scanner, it sounded like there was a “fender bender” at the same time on that very overpass.

If we end up getting a media release about the freeway crash, I’ll update this post.