Wrong-way I-5 crash injures 4 in Pierce County; driver accused of DUI

Four people were injured after a driver suspected of being under the influence went the wrong way down Interstate 5 and hit another car Sunday, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A 24-year-old man from Wylie, Texas, was driving a Toyota Corolla north in the southbound lanes of I-5 on Sunday morning, troopers wrote in a news release.

The Corolla collided with a Toyota Prius driven by a 48-year-old Renton woman near the northern city limits of Lakewood. A 14-year-old girl was also in the Prius. The crash happened around 8 a.m. Another person was also hurt, but authorities did not have further details, Trooper Kameron Watts said.

All four people were transported to various local hospitals. Three suffered serious injuries, and the fourth had minor injuries, Watts said.

The Texas man is suspected of vehicular assault and DUI. The exact cause of the crash remained under investigation.

Both vehicles were totaled, troopers reported. The interstate was blocked for almost three hours.

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