Five-Car Accidents Slows Traffic to a Crawl in Yakima Washington

A five-car accident involving a semi-truck brought traffic to a standstill on Interstate 82 for more than two hours Saturday afternoon. No one was seriously injured in the wreck that the Department of Transportation said left traffic backed up for three miles. The accident happened around 1:30 p.m. At least six people were transported to Yakima Regional Hospital.

State trooper Ryan Sauve said all the cars were totalled except the semi, which still sustained some damage. He said accidents like this have a snowball effect.
"It's a chain reaction out here [on the interstate]," Sauve said. "Once a semi hits a car, it [hits another] car, car, car."
The accident was near mile marker 35 on Interstate 82 about a mile from the Nob Hill Boulevard exit. Police reopened both lanes of the highway at about three p.m. The Washington State Patrol is investigating the accident.