One dead in I-5 chain reaction crash in Fife

FIFE, Wash. — A fatal car crash early Friday morning in Fife stalled traffic and caused issues on the roadway for hours.

The crash happened on southbound I-5 just north of 70th.

“When troopers arrived on scene they learned that a vehicle traveling southbound had struck a vehicle that was parked on the shoulder with one occupant inside,” Trooper John Dattilo said. “After striking that vehicle, the southbound vehicle returned back into the lanes of travel broadside and was t-boned by a semi-truck also travelling southbound.”

Dattilo said the man who was driving the first car, a 26-year-old man, died at the scene.

“We just believe that their momentum carried them forward and they probably lost control of their car after the initial crash,” he said.

The woman who was in the parked vehicle on the shoulder is 59 and was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the semi was not hurt.

“We will rely on the Pierce County medical examiner to provide a toxicology report to see if impairment was a factor on behalf of the deceased person,” Dattilo said.

Troopers said they still don’t know why the woman was parked on the side of the freeway, but the answer to that will come as they continue to investigate.

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