Pile-Up Closes I-5 Lanes

A storm squall that dumped heavy rain is being blamed for a multiple-vehicle crash that closed all but one southbound lane of Interstate 5 near Lakewood for hours on Friday afternoon, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.

The pile-up happened at about 12:40 p.m. near the Thorn Lane exit from I-5 in the Gravelly Lake area and left a tangled mess of smashed cars and trucks -- at least 15 cars including four semi trucks and a motor home in all.

A 66-year-old Tacoma man driving a silver pickup truck was the only driver seriously injured in the massive pile-up.

Images from a Department of Transportation camera showed three crashed semi-trucks and cars blocking most of the southbound side of the freeway.

The crash slowed traffic to a crawl and caused miles-long back-ups.

By 5:30 p.m., all lanes were open to traffic.