Seven sent to hospitals, traffic delayed after 15-vehicle crash on I-90

Published 9:54 am Wednesday, July 20, 2011

A 15-vehicle crash has sent as many as seven people to the hospital and blocked the majority of westbound Interstate 90, according to Washington State Patrol and Washington State Department of Transportation officials.

A nine-year-old girl was in critical condition following the pile up, and she was taken to Harborview.

The chain-reaction began just before 8 a.m. near 133rd Avenue Southeast when a semi-truck jackknifed, colliding with a log truck. The semi was attempting to slow down as traffic became heavy, but could not. The collision caused the log truck to lose an axle. This caused a massive pileup, with 13 other cars hitting the trucks, or logs that fell off the trucks, according to State Patrol.

Six other people were taken to Overlake Hospital Medical or Harborview Medical Center for their injuries.

The backup into Issaquah on westbound I-90 continued more than an hour after the crash. The queue for cars was more than six miles at its worst. Lines were reopened throughout the morning, as crews worked to contain the damage. All lanes were eventually opened around 12:15 p.m.

Clean up of a 15-vehicle pile up accident on Westbound Interstate 90 in Bellevue on Wednesday morning, July 20, 2011. Photo by Chad Coleman/Bellevue Reporter.