Police identify pedestrian killed in I-5 crash, one truck driver cited
The Washington State Patrol has identified the 63-year-old man who was struck by two cars on Friday morning while crossing northbound lanes of Interstate-5 near Fife.
William Gladue from Tacoma was walking on the northbound shoulder of Interstate-5 near 70th Avenue East around 3:50 a.m., when he walked or ran across the lanes, Trooper Robert Reyer said.
He was struck by a car in the far left lane, and the impact pushed him into a second lane, where a second car hit him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office notified Gladue’s relatives, Reyer said.
At 4:15 a.m., 25 minutes later, traffic was backing up behind the collision. Two tractor-trailers stopped near 54th Avenue East, Reyer said. One was hauling 30,000 pounds of fish and the other was loaded with heavy cream or milk.
A third tractor-trailer did not stop in time and hit the fish-filled tractor-trailer, Reyer said. The impact pushed the fish tractor-trailer into the dairy tractor-trailer, crumpling the back-end of the trailer. Milk or heavy cream spilled onto Interstate-5.
Some cars drove through the spillage, trekking milk or cream up to the King County/Pierce County line. The Department of Ecology and the Washington State Department of Transportation were called in to clean up the milk.
“I guess the fatty parts of the cream or milk turned the road into an ice rink,” Reyer said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer who did not stop in time was handed a misdemeanor ticket for second-degree negligent driving, Reyer said.
“That’s an expensive ticket, over $500,” he said.
One of the semi-trailers also had a diesel fuel spill, WSDOT said.
The tractor-trailer fish was reloaded onto another truck and hauled away.
The highway was shut down for 10 hours, Reyer said.
This story was originally published May 8, 2021 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Police identify pedestrian killed in I-5 crash, one truck driver cited."
