Issaquah girl in critical condition after 15-car pileup

A 9-year-old Issaquah girl was in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center on Wednesday following a 15-vehicle wreck on westbound Interstate 90 that morning, according to Washington State Patrol.

July 21, 2011 6:08 pm
Crews work to clean up the aftermath of a 15-vehicle wreck on I-90 on Wednesday morning that sent seven people to hospitals.
Crews work to clean up the aftermath of a 15-vehicle wreck on I-90 on Wednesday morning that sent seven people to hospitals.

BY NAT LEVY

REPORTER NEWSPAPERS

A 9-year-old Issaquah girl was in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center on Wednesday following a 15-vehicle wreck on westbound Interstate 90 that morning, according to Washington State Patrol.

In all, seven people were taken to Overlake Hospital Medical Center or Harborview, said Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Troy Donlin.

The chain-reaction accident began just before 8 a.m. near 133rd Avenue Southeast in Bellevue when a semi-truck jackknifed, colliding with a log truck. The semi was attempting to slow down as traffic became heavy, but could not.

The collision caused the log truck to lose an axle. The rear assembly carrying the logs broke and they were scattered about the freeway. This caused a massive pileup, with 13 other cars hitting the trucks, or logs that fell off the trucks, according to State Patrol.

The backup into Issaquah on westbound I-90 continued more than an hour after the crash. The queue for cars was more than six miles at its worst.

Lanes were reopened throughout the morning, as crews worked to contain the damage. All lanes were eventually opened around 12:15 p.m.