State Route 6 at the Pluvius Bridge was squeezed down to one lane for approximately 5 hours on Monday, April 22 after a fifth-wheel travel trailer tipped over onto its side blocking the westbound lane. The roadway was closed completely in both directions for around an hour while a towing agency cleared the scene.
The driver of the fifth-wheel travel trailer reported that as he approached the bridge in the eastbound lane he felt a vibration and thought a tire had blown out. The vibration worsened and the trailer began to sway back and forth before hitting the guardrail in the westbound lane on the bridge and sliding into oncoming traffic.
A van driven by a woman from Oregon in the westbound lane saw the truck and fifth-wheel travel trailer coming directly at her and swerved on the shoulder of the road. The drivers' side of her van sustained damage down the entire side including a broken mirror and driver's window. "It was very traumatic seeing it come at me," she said. "I'm glad to be alive and that nobody was injured."
Hill Towing out of Long Beach was requested by Washington State Patrol to respond to the scene with a heavy equipment wrecker to turn the fifth-wheel travel trailer upright. A wrecker and flatbed responded to the scene. The duo worked methodically to right the severely damaged trailer right side up.
A crew from the Washington State Department of Transportation performed traffic control with one of the workers volunteering to assist with the scene clean up.
Once the roadway was shut down to all traffic, Hill Towing slowly turned the trailer right side up in just under an hour and had both lanes reopened in both directions a short time later.
None of the occupants in the truck hauling the fifth-wheel travel trailer or the van were injured in the crash. The trailer was totaled and both the truck and van sustained damage. Approximately 50ft of guardrail was also damaged in the accident.
"We were on our way back from clam digging in Long Beach," an occupant, who requested her name be withheld, of the truck stated. "I'm just glad nobody was hurt and hope my crab in the fridge didn't get ruined. These sort of things just happen, what can you do?"
Both Hill Towing and workers from WSDOT remained on scene for quite some time to help the driver and passengers of truck remove items from the trailer.