UPDATED: 10 a.m.
EVERETT — An overturned concrete truck that lost half its load made for a hellish drive to work for hundreds of commuters heading south on I-5 Monday morning between Marysville and Everett.
Traffic was backed up for several miles on southbound I-5 after the truck blew a rear tire, causing the driver to lose control and roll over on a stretch of highway in front of Dagmar’s Landing.
The driver, 39, felt the friction burn of his seat belt, but otherwise the Camano Island man was not injured.
“He was very shaken up,” Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.
The truck lost about half of the 10 yards of wet concrete it was carrying.
The accident occurred around 7 a.m.
Two hours later, traffic was backed up well into Marysville.
Smokey Point Concrete sent out an excavator and dump truck to help clean up the mess, Leary said. For several minutes, the entire freeway was shut down.
None of the concrete got into any of the lanes, Leary said.
Besides the concrete, there also was spilled hydraulic fluid to clean up.
For all the hassle the accident caused, it could have been worse, Leary said. Neither the truck driver nor anyone else was hurt.
“They can replace the truck,” Leary said. “We can’t replace him.”
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