A 23-year-old man from Texas was killed early Saturday after the car he was driving crashed into one barrier, spun across all lanes on Interstate 5, hit the opposite barrier and burst into flames.
His passenger, a 22-year-old man from California, was injured but is expected to survive, Washington State Patrol spokesperson John Dattilo said in a phone call.
The northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 120 and the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Main Gate were closed for 6 hours and 47 minutes Saturday morning as crews investigated and cleared the crash site.
WSP determined the cause of the crash, which occurred around 3:10 a.m. on March 9, to be reckless driving. All affected passengers, including the driver who died, were wearing seatbelts.
According to authorities, an unknown model Chevrolet entered northbound I-5 and "lost control, struck the barrier on the right shoulder, crossed all the lanes then struck the barrier on the left shoulder." The car came to a stop in the third lane of four before bursting into flames, the report said.
A second vehicle, a BMW X3, collided with the damaged vehicle "due to a loss of visibility." That driver, a 54-year-old man from Bothell, was not injured. The vehicle was also totaled.
The highway initially closed near the JBLM Main Gate at 3:25 a.m., Washington State Department of Transportation shared on X. Around 5:30 a.m., traffic was diverted to Dupont-Steilacoom Road.
At 7 a.m., traffic headed toward the gate was turned around by authorities. WSDOT encouraged drivers to delay travels through the area.
Crews intermittently opened the right shoulder to allow traffic to pass.
"Traffic backed up to DuPont," WSDOT wrote on X around 8:30 a.m. "If possible, please consider delaying travels. If you go, you will see miles long backups."
It wasn't until 9:44 a.m. that all northbound lanes at JBLM reopened.
"Heavy traffic extends beyond DuPont," WSDOT said. "Expect it to take a while before congestion clears out."
