A woman died and a man was injured after each of them crashed their motorcycles on Interstate 5 northbound on Saturday night.
The two motorcyclists, Leslie M, Eckman, 29, of La Center, and Chris Sombounvong, 41, of La Center, were each driving a motorcycle north on I-5 at about 11 p.m. in Ridgefield. Both of them approached a slower-moving car in the left lane, and they lost control of the motorcycles, according to a press release from the Washington State Patrol.
Sombounvong struck the back of a car, and both motorcyclists were ejected. Sombounvong came to rest near the right shoulder, and Eckman came to rest in the left lane, where another car struck her. Eckman died at the scene, according to the press release. Both drivers were wearing helmets.
Sombounvong was taken to the hospital, but his condition is unknown. He is facing pending charges, and the cause of the crash is under investigation, the press release stated.
The crash caused troopers to block all three lanes of I-5 northbound for hours stretching into early Sunday morning.
