Fatal semi-truck crash on Monday morning closes southbound I-5 south of Tumwater

All lanes of southbound traffic on Interstate 5 were closed Monday morning after a semi-truck crash that killed one person.

At 7:38 a.m., WSP Trooper Robert Reyer tweeted that a semi-truck left the road while on southbound I-5 near milepost 97 and 113th Avenue Southwest. The semi struck an overpass bridge column and the fuel tank was damaged, causing diesel to leak onto the overpass.

The driver died, WSP reported.

One lane was reopened about 10 a.m.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that the Washington State Patrol is investigating.

Drivers were encouraged to seek alternate routes, such as using State Route 121.

This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 8:33 AM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription