Police arrested a man on suspicion of driving under the influence after they say he caused a pileup crash Wednesday night in Vancouver that seriously injured a woman.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn said a line of four vehicles had either stopped or slowed as they exited northbound Interstate 5 to East 39th Street, when, at around 6 p.m., a fifth vehicle barreled in from behind, striking the rear-most of the four vehicles. The impact caused a chain-reaction crash among all the vehicles.
A woman driving the vehicle struck first was seriously injured, and firefighters had to cut her from her car, Finn said. She was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
No one else was hurt.
The 39th Street offramp was closed for a couple of hours. Police are investigating the crash as a vehicular assault, Finn said. The man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, and investigators were trying to get a warrant to test his blood, Finn said Wednesday night.
The names of the injured woman and the man troopers arrested were not available.
