TACOMA, Wash. — All lanes of southbound Interstate 5 in Tacoma reopened following a crash involving three cars and a motorcycle Tuesday morning.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) first reported the crash near South 56th Street just before 1 a.m. The roadway reopened to traffic around 7:45 a.m.
Traffic was diverted to South 56th Street during the nearly seven-hour closure. The crash was causing a backup of at least three miles around 7 a.m. The WSDOT tweeted the backups extended to the Tacoma Dome when the roadway reopened.
According to the Washington State Patrol (WSP), the description of the three cars involved matched the description of three cars that were reportedly racing on I-5.
The WSP said a motorcycle hit one of the cars, causing "serious injuries" to the 57-year-old man driving and the 32-year-old woman on the motorcycle. A 19-year-old man who was driving one of the cars was also injured.
All three vehicles remained at the scene, but the driver of one of the vehicles fled from the scene. The WSP said the vehicle the driver fled from was reported stolen.
Tow trucks were at the scene around 7:15 a.m. to clear the vehicles from the roadway.
The WSDOT said drivers should “expect continued slowdowns” until the backups clear.
The WSP said vehicular assault charges are possible for the drivers of the three vehicles that were allegedly racing.
No other information is available at this time.
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