Seattle Injury Blog

Five separate crashes, involving 16 vehicles, slowed traffic Friday on I-5 between Burlington and Mount Vernon. This caused major problems for holiday shoppers driving to local malls. The automobile accidents included two hit-and-run drivers who troopers are still looking for.

“Everyone stopped and there was a semi in front of me and just, there it is,” said one driver, slapping his hand to show how quickly the truck accident he was involved in happened.

One bad move started the whole mess at approximately 11:30am. Traffic crossing the Skagit River Bridge started to back up. “We had a couple of cars slow down on the bridge, one of those was struck and basically a chain reaction after that,” said Trooper Keith Learn, of the Washington State Patrol.

A 2004 freeway auto accident on I-405 in the Seattle area which left a Renton woman blind and disfigured has resulted in a $15.5 million verdict. According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, 28 year Maria Federici said she hopes the money will help her get back to living a more normal, independent life.

The University of Washington graduate was nearly killed when a board flew from a U-Haul trailer and smashed through her windshield. It took the Superior Court jury nearly a week to decide that U-Haul was a big part to blame for the accident. Jurors found U-Haul to be 67% at fault in the accident, and the driver of the U-Haul truck to be 33% at fault, for not tying down the entertainment center he was towing in the open trailer.

The $15.5 million verdict will help Federici pay for the innumerable surgeries she still faces and possibly a house. Federici hopes to someday be able to live on her own. “It’ll just help me get back to living a bit more of a normal life-as normal as it can get. I hope it opens people’s eyes up on this matter,” she said, referring to bringing awareness about the dangers of driving with unsecured loads.

A 17-year-old smashed head-on into a truck on Wednesday, leaving him with critical injuries. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after the trucking accident.

According to state troopers, the teen, who was driving a Honda, was heading north on I-5 near Centralia. He apparently drifted off the right side of the road. Then, say the troopers, he overcorrected and flew under (not over) the median.

Lt. Sean Hartsock, of Washington State Patrol, said, “His front end was down so as he went underneath, that cable barrier came back up the other side and hit this pickup. I’ve not personally seen a case where a vehicle has come under.” The crash is being investigated by both the state patrol and the state Department of Transportation.

A couple from Michigan escaped personal injury last Sunday when a 600 pound cow fell on their mini-van in Manson, located in Eastern Washington.

The Chelan County Fire Chief said the couple was lucky they weren’t killed when the cow fell from a cliff, smashing into their vehicle. According to the Seattle Times, District 5 Chief Arnold Baker said that the couple missed being killed by a matter of inches, as they drove on Highway 150 near Manson, which is located in Chelan County.

“It was “bam” – you just saw something come down and hit the hood,” the mini-van driver told the Wenatchee World newspaper. The newspaper also reported that the man said he didn’t see the cow until it hit and didn’t realize what had happened until after the Auto Accident.