CAMAS, Wash. — One person is dead, and two others transported to a hospital after a seven-car crash that closed part of State Route 14. The Washington State Patrol District 5 said that a vehicle, stuck behind an oversized load, attempted a U-turn, causing the crash.
The oversized load was a manufactured home being transported on a flatbed truck, which got stuck on the West Camas Slough Bridge late Thursday morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). It blocked westbound traffic on State Route 14 between Camas and Washougal for about two hours.
The highway shrinks down to one lane in each direction to cross the bridge, which has only a couple feet of shoulder space on each side. A photo posted by WSDOT appears to show that the manufactured home was simply too wide for the bridge, and quickly became wedged between the outer and central barrier railings when the westbound truck attempted to cross.
In a Facebook post around 1 p.m., the city of Washougal said officers were assisting with the crash and that the westbound lanes could remain closed for several hours.
WSDOT first tweeted about the accident just after noon Thursday and urged westbound drivers to use Exit 14 to get off the highway in Washougal before the bridge.
By around 2:30 p.m., WSDOT traffic cameras showed traffic moving again on both sides of the bridge, with what appeared to be the house trailer moved off the bridge and parked on a nearby shoulder.
A separate accident closed both directions of SR-14 in Washougal at around the same time, about two miles east of the bridge, resulting in a more limited detour. All lanes have since been opened following the collision.
