A suspected drunken driver hit a car on Interstate 5 in Lakewood early Tuesday, causing it to roll. Three people were killed.
Update as of 7:18 a.m.: Northbound lanes have reopened but traffic in the area remains heavy. Southbound lanes reopened at 7:30 a.m.
Initial post: Three people were killed early Thursday after a hit-and-run driver forced their car to roll on Interstate 5, shutting down all southbound lanes and three northbound lanes.
A DuPont police officer was also struck by a semi while sitting in his patrol car at the scene. He suffered neck and back pains.
The closure at Bridgeport Way is expected to impact the morning commute. Troopers asked drivers to avoid the area and use alternative routes.
The incident started about 2:15 a.m. when a suspected drunken driver traveling south on I-5 hit a Honda CRV, pushing it into the jersey barrier and causing it to roll several times near New York Avenue SW.
The impact threw the engine block and other debris into northbound lanes, where another vehicle hit it.
Two people in the Honda were pronounced dead at the scene. A third was trapped and pronounced dead after paramedics pulled them out.
The victims, believed to be two men and a woman, have not been identified.
The 23-year-old driver who caused the crash fled the scene but an off-duty Seattle police officer who saw what happened was able to direct troopers to the suspect.
A woman was found outside the car three miles away trying to pull the damaged bumper off, according to KIRO-7.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, DUI, hit-and-run and possession of a stolen firearm.
Clover Park schools said its buses may be significantly delayed due to traffic backup on I-5. Steilacoom schools said its buses are delayed about 30 minutes.
Northbound traffis is reportedly backed up 10 miles; southbound traffic is backed up four miles.
