I-5 accident near Arlington kills one, injured another

A 75-year-old Blaine woman was killed and an 87-year-old Camano Island man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after their Honda Accord was rear-ended by a semi-truck in an early morning crash Tuesday that shut down southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Arlington for hours.

The woman, who was a passenger in the Honda, was identified as Barbara E. Humberson, according to the State Patrol. The Honda's driver is Robert L. Gwaltney, the Patrol said.

The collision happened shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Interstate 5 at 172nd Street in Arlington. The Honda was in the far right lane of southbound I-5 and was moving either very slowly or was stopped, said State Patrol Sgt. Kirk Rudeen.

The driver of the semi-truck, identified as Jeffrey D. Wilson, 44, of Stanwood, was driving in the same lane and slammed on the brakes in an attempt to avoid a collision, Rudeen said.

He wasn't able to stop in time and hit the car, sending it across the southbound lanes of the freeway. The car hit the median barrier, Rudeen said.

Humberson died at the scene while Gwaltney was airlifted to the Seattle hospital in critical condition. Wilson wasn't hurt, Rudeen said.

The southbound lanes reopened at 7:44 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

Eight to 10 state patrol detectives are investigating the cause of the crash, Rudeen said.

"The main thing is to try and figure out why the Honda was either traveling at such a slow rate of speed or stopped on I-5," he said.