The person killed in a multi-car crash on Interstate 5 in Bellingham Tuesday night has been identified as a 52-year-old woman from Mount Vernon. Ana Hernandez Islas died after she lost control of her vehicle and hit the jersey barrier along southbound Interstate 5 in Bellingham, got out of her car and was struck by two passing cars, according to the Washington State Patrol release on the incident. According to the State Patrol release on the incident:
Hernandez Islas was driving her white 2001 Toyota Sienna at approximately 10:50 p.m. Nov. 2 southbound on I-5 near milepost 254 north of the Iowa Street exit when she lost control for an unknown reason and struck the Jersey barrier on the left shoulder. ▪ A blue 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt driven southbound by a 20-year-old man from Lacey swerved to avoid debris from the Sienna blocking the left lane and also struck the Jersey barrier.
The Sienna and the Cobalt came to rest on the left shoulder facing the wrong way. ▪ Hernandez Islas got out of the Sienna and was struck by a green 1994 Ford Taurus driven by a 21-year-old woman from Port Angeles and then a 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA driven by a 65-year-old man from Bellingham. ▪ The Taurus and Mercedes came to rest on the right shoulder. Neither alcohol nor drugs were believed to have been involved in the incident, according to the report, but the crash remains under investigation. “It was really a tragic incident,” Trooper Rocky Oliphant told The Bellingham Herald Thursday, Nov. 4. “I understand it was raining pretty heavy at the time, and visibility was pretty poor. When it gets like that, approaching vehicles may not be able to see until the last possible second that there is a car spun out or a pedestrian walking on the roadway.”
Oliphant said the best thing for drivers to do during heavy rain is to reduce speed to give themselves more time to see and react to hazards. But what does the State Patrol recommend if you are in a car involved in an crash or a car disabled on the freeway? “It all depends on the situation, of course, but in most cases, staying in your car and remaining seatbelted is the best,” Oliphant said. “If you can safely stay in the car, do it and call 911, so we can get safety equipment there to help protect you.” The death is the 11th on Whatcom County roadways so far this year, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Crash Data Portal. It is the first this year along the Interstate and the first involving a pedestrian, according to the WSDOT data.