Thurston County wreck with ‘major injuries’ closed part of I-5 for seven hours
Troopers arrested a 32-year-old Winlock driver after he allegedly caused a three-vehicle wreck on Interstate 5 in Thurston County Sunday.
The wreck happened at about 9:42 p.m. at milepost 96, which is south of Tumwater and near Millersylvania State Park, according to a Washington State Patrol press memo.
The Winlock driver traveled south in a 2019 Toyota RAV4 with a passenger when he allegedly rear-ended a 2000 Jeep Cherokee in lane two of three. The Jeep driver swerved into lane three where a semi-truck struck his vehicle, per the memo.
A 38-year-old Puyallup man drove the Jeep without wearing a seatbelt, the memo says. Court records indicate the force of the collision ejected the Puyallup driver from his vehicle.
First responders reportedly found the Puyallup driver lying on the shoulder without a pulse but managed to revive him with CPR. He was then transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia to be treated for “major injuries,” according to court records and the memo.
Everyone else involved in the collision wore seatbelts and was not injured, per the memo.
The Jeep came to a rest facing the wrong way on the right shoulder, the memo says. Meanwhile, the Toyota stopped in lane one and the semi-truck stopped on the right shoulder.
The roadway was partially closed for a total of seven hours and seven minutes, according to the memo. The collision reportedly totaled both the Toyota and the Jeep while the semi-truck had reportable damage.
The cause of the collision remained under investigation. However, State Patrol accused the Toyota driver of vehicular assault and driving under the influence in the memo. Troopers also suspect the Puyallup man of driving under the influence.
The Winlock driver admitted to consuming “intoxicating beverages” at a holiday party before the collision, prosecutors alleged in court records. He allegedly had red, watery eyes and appeared unsteady on his feet when walking.
He volunteered to take a breath test. The results showed a blood alcohol concertation (BAC) of 0.088%. The legal limit in Washington state is 0.08%.
Washington state lawmakers are pushing to reduce the state’s allowable BAC in the current legislative session.
On Jan. 28, the state Senate voted 26-23 to approve SB 5067. If approve by the House and signed into law, the bill would reduce the allowable BAC to 0.05% starting July 1.
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 12:08 PM.
