BELLEVUE, Wash. — All lanes of eastbound Interstate 90 reopened Tuesday morning after fully closing due to a "serious" multi-vehicle crash near Bellevue Way.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) first reported the crash on the East Channel Bridge between Mercer Island and Bellevue around 7:15 a.m.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson said three vehicles were involved in the crash, and two of the vehicles caught fire. The Bellevue Fire Department said two people were taken to the hospital, but the extent of their injuries are currently unknown. Two other people involved in the crash were not injured.
Eastside Fire and Rescue tweeted that one of its captains who was off duty and commuting to work was the first person on the scene of the crash. Eastside Fire and Rescue said Capt. Tom Tull and the driver one of the other cars involved in the crash broke a window of the vehicle that was on fire with a crowbar and pulled the “entrapped driver from their burning truck.”
Tull said after he and three other bystanders were able to pull the victim out of the car, the man was unconscious and still on fire. They moved him approximately 15 feet from the car to extinguish the flames.
Then, the victim woke up and alerted Tull that he had multiple Acetylene tanks in his car. Acetylene tanks are used for welding and are filled with compressed gas, which makes them highly flammable. Tull and the bystanders then moved the victim about 30 yards from the car.
When asked how he jumped into action so fast, he credited his training at Eastside Fire and Rescue.
"We've been on many, many accidents throughout my 22 years and it just becomes second nature," Tull said.
He said he was grateful that others stepped in as well.
"Thank goodness for [the other driver's] quick actions, because at that point, it was a matter of seconds," Tull said.
According to Tull, if they hadn't moved the victim when they did, he believes all the bystanders would have been severely injured by the fire.
The crash initially closed all eastbound lanes for just under an hour, but traffic slowly started to get by the crash on the left shoulder before 8:15 a.m. All lanes reopened to traffic just after 10 a.m.
The WSDOT opened the HOV lane to all drivers around 8:35 a.m. while crews were clearing the scene, but the lane was switched back to HOV-only about an hour later.
The fire was under control around 7:35 a.m.
The WSDOT said around 9:30 a.m. that the backup from the crash was about 5 miles long and extended all the way to Seattle.
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