Icy Roads Cause Nearly 100 Crashes In Pierce/Thurston Tuesday AM

LAKEWOOD, WA — Troopers are begging drivers to take it slow on the roads this week after responding to nearly 100 crashes in Pierce and Thurston counties Tuesday morning. Most of the crashes were caused by ice on the roads, a problem that is expected to linger for the next few days.

State Patrol Trooper Robert Reyer reported that, as of 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, WSP had responded to 95 crashes in District 1, 63 in Pierce County and 32 in Thurston County. First responders blame the spike in accidents on the recent bout of cold weather, which has iced over highways in the South Sound.

Reyer said that ice appeared especially bad on SR-507 and SR-510. The Washington State Department of Transportation warned drivers to expect backups on both of those roads, plus I-5, as its crews worked to treat the roadways for ice and snow.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to avoid ending up in one of these crashes yourself, first responder say: just slow down and be patient.

That's good advice to take to heart, because the icy roads are likely to stick around for the near future: The latest forecast from the weather service says to expect icy roads in the Tacoma area through at least Thursday.