A three-vehicle crash closed the northbound lanes of the Interstate 5 Bridge for about 45 minutes Sunday morning. The incident started after a pedestrian ran onto the freeway to chase after a dog, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The crash was reported at 10:16 a.m. on the northern side of the bridge.
According to State Patrol, a northbound C-Tran bus in the center lane stopped on the freeway for the pedestrian. Then, a northbound 1999 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by Fernando M. Cortazar, 39, of Salinas, Calif., attempted to swerve around the C-Tran bus and struck the left rear end of the bus. The big rig also hit the right side of a blue 2012 Toyota Prius driven by Christine A. Burklund, 46, of Battle Ground.
Nobody was injured, State Patrol said.
The 1999 C-Tran bus was driven by Patrick W. Finstad, 45, of Vancouver. Cortazar, the driver of the tractor-trailer, was cited for driving too fast for road conditions, according to State Patrol.
All northbound lanes were closed as crews responded to the crash, according to radio traffic monitored at The Columbian. Lanes were reopened to traffic at about 11 a.m.
