It wasn't the weather — there wasn't rain at the time.
It wasn't sun in drivers' eyes — the change back to Pacific Standard Time made sure the sun had already retired for the evening.
So what caused nine crashes during what amounted to a 104-minute demolition derby along a nine-mile stretch of northbound Interstate 5 through Bellingham and Whatcom County Wednesday evening, Nov. 10?
"There wasn't anything obvious that would contribute to several crashes like a large amount of rain or hail according to one of the troopers that assisted with all of this," Washington State Patrol Trooper Rocky Oliphant told The Bellingham Herald in an email Thursday, Nov. 11. "Due to the crashes, traffic did slow and likely played a contributing factor mixed with drivers following too close or traveling too fast for the conditions.
"I don't know the cause of all of the crashes."
Some on social media, of course, resorted to blaming in jest the return of drivers from Canada after the U.S. opened its border for vaccinated Canadians to cross for "non-essential" travel reasons on Monday, Nov. 8.
But others pointed out that there were already plenty of bad drivers on this side of the border who tailgate, make improper lane changes and regularly speed.
No matter what the cause, northbound I-5 was more of a parking lot than a freeway for nearly two hours, as Oliphant reported the State Patrol was alerted to these crashes:
— 5:14 p.m.: Two-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 256 (near Meridian Street exit) — incident was handled by the Bellingham Police Department.
— 5:22 p.m.: Three-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 263 (near Portal Way exit).
— 5:32 p.m.: Two-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 254 (near Iowa Street exit) — incident was partially blocking lanes for a period.
— 5:42 p.m.: Two-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 261 (north of Slater Road exit).
— 5:43 p.m.: Two-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 262 (near Main Street exit in Ferndale).
— 6:18 p.m.: Two-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 261.
— 6:39 p.m.: Two-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 261 — State Patrol did not respond to this incident, as the involved drivers were able to handle it on their own.
— 6:57 p.m.: One-car collision off-road along northbound I-5 near milepost 263.
— 6:58 p.m.: Two-car collision on northbound I-5 near milepost 263.
Oliphant did not report any serious injuries from any of the incidents.
According to the PulsePoint app, Whatcom County fire departments were called to three of the nine crashes.
For the entire day Wednesday, there were 13 crashes on I-5 in Whatcom County reported to the State Patrol, according to Oliphant.
