1 dead following massive pileup on I-5 at King-Pierce county line

FIFE, WA – One person died in this morning in a chain-reaction wreck that continues to cause serious traffic delays on northbound I-5 near the King-Pierce county line, KOMO News reports.

The initial incident happened at about 3:50 a.m. today, when a pedestrian ran across the freeway just north of 70th Avenue and was fatally struck by two vehicles. That collision and the resulting emergency response created a backup in the area, which three semi trucks crashed into.

One of the semis sent a load of milk and cream spilling onto the roadway, while another semi twisted an axel and required specialized assistance to move. The third semi was carrying 30,000 pounds of fish, which had to be loaded onto another truck before they spoiled. Finally, a diesel spill needed to be cleaned from the roadway.

Traffic was being detoured through 54th Street, but the backup extended as far away as Puyallup.

The cleanup is expected to take several hours.

[cta]