Woman killed in motorcycle crash near Washington

A young woman was killed Monday morning when her speeding motorcycle rear-ended an SUV on Interstate 5, the Washington State Patrol reported.

State troopers responded to the fatal crash, on I-5 near the Highway 530 interchange, at about 9:50 a.m.
The motorcyclist, a 24-year-old Bellingham woman, was pronounced dead at the scene, said Trooper Mark Francis.
He said a car had spun out earlier, hitting the left guardrail, causing a traffic slowdown and backup to form on the southbound lanes of the freeway.

The motorcyclist, on a Honda touring cycle, was traveling at a speed too fast for conditions as she approached the backup in the southbound lanes of I-5. She slammed into the back of a VW Touareg that had either stopped or slowed for the backup, said Trooper Cliff Pratt.The motorcycle burst into flames and hit the pavement after the crash.

The driver of the VW, a 48-year-old Issaquah woman, was taken to a local hospital to be checked out for minor injuries.
Two lanes were blocked at the scene during the investigation of the crash. All lanes have now reopened.