Date:  Monday, October 06, 2008

Contact:
Jamie Swift, WSDOT Communications, (360) 357-2703
Kelly Stowe, WSDOT Communications, (253) 536-6228

ROCHESTER – Washington State Department of Transportation engineers and Washington State Patrol will try to determine why a passenger vehicle crossed under a cable median barrier, colliding with a semi truck Friday morning, Oct. 3 on Interstate 5 south of Olympia.

Washington State Patrol is investigating the collision that occurred about 11 a.m. near Grand Mound in south Thurston County.

It is unknown at this time what caused the car, heading southbound on I-5, to cross under the cable median barrier, striking a semi that was traveling in the northbound direction. The semi pushed the car about 100 yards in the northbound lanes then into the median.

The cable barrier stopped the semi-truck and car from crossing into the southbound lanes.

“Our hearts go out to the family of the crash victims,” said Kevin J. Dayton, WSDOT’s Olympic Region Administrator.

"We will analyze what happened," Dayton said. “Cable median barrier has proven effective at preventing cross-over crashes in most situations. But we also know that no barrier can prevent every collision.”

WSDOT recently released its 2008 cable median report, which can be viewed at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/cablebarrier/Report2008. Prior to the installation of cable media barriers, which WSDOT started in 1995, the agency had become increasingly concerned about cross-over collisions on state highways. Findings from that report found that since WSDOT began installing cable barrier, the barriers have been effective in restraining 95 percent of vehicles from crossing the median.

More information about cable median barrier can be found at:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/cablebarrier.

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