Stray mattress sends car skidding into semi truck in fatal wreck

A motorist was killed in a wreck involving a mattress and an oncoming semi truck in Washington over the weekend. 

The accident happened on Saturday morning, March 12th in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

According to the Washington State Patrol, a mattress fell off a truck on Interstate 5 and was laying in the roadway when a four-wheeler, driven by 20-year-old Yohana Ayele, crashed into it. The collision with the mattress sent Ayele swerving into the path of an oncoming semi truck. The truck then struck Ayele’s driver side door, killing her in the crash. The collision also sent the semi truck veering off the side of the road.

The truck driver was not hurt in the incident, but the northbound lanes of I-5 were closed near 220th Street for nearly five hours while crews worked to clear the wreckage, reported King 5 News.

The Washington State Patrol is asking for help in identifying the motorist responsible for the stray mattress, as Maria’s Law passed back in 2005 makes it illegal to improperly secure a load. The pickup has been described as possibly a small, older, dark-colored with wood-sided bed racks hauling miscellaneous household items. 

The Washington State Patrol asks anyone with information to contact them at 360-654-1204.