Two people were injured after a tire on a northbound semi-truck blew on Interstate 5 in Lewis County Sunday night, sending the vehicle into the southbound lanes where it struck another vehicle, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Jackson B. Woods, 27, of Silver Lake, was driving a 2012 International 7000 north on Interstate 5 at milepost 65 when the left front tire of the vehicle was ruptured at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday. The semi-truck struck the center median and rolled onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 5.
A 2017 Toyota driven by Jun F. Hao, 30, of Portland, was struck by debris. Hao was not injured.
Woods and a 17-year-old male passenger were injured and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital.
Lewis County Fire District 15 was among the emergency responders at the scene.
The fire district reported that one occupant was entrapped inside the semi-truck.
“First arriving units found a semi with heavy damage not on fire and one of the two occupants pinned inside,” the district wrote in a post on Facebook. “Due to the complexity of the incident, additional units from (Lewis County Fire Districts 5 and 6) and Life Flight were requested. Crews were able to extricate the (patient) with the help of a heavy wrecker tow truck. The two occupants were both transported by medics to Providence hospital with minor injuries. LCFD 15 would like to thank all mutual aid agencies and everyone involved in this major incident.”
All motorists were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. Drugs or alcohol were not involved, according to the state patrol.
The crash remains under investigation.
