A 32-year-old man was pronounced dead as he was being taken to the hospital Thursday morning after he struck multiple cars on U.S. Highway 101 north of Shelton, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The incident left the road fully blocked for more than four hours.
About 7:30 a.m., Elliott A. Madea, who was identified by the Mason County coroner, was driving north on the highway near Wallace Kneeland Boulevard. He passed a vehicle by driving on the right shoulder, then merged into a second vehicle.
Madea then crashed head-on into another vehicle in the southbound lanes of the highway, according to the state patrol.
The two other drivers involved in the collision — a 29-year old woman from Elma and a 67-year-old man from Shelton — were not hurt, according to the state patrol.
