An Olympia man died at the scene of a four-vehicle chain reaction crash on U.S. Highway 101 at Mud Bay Wednesday afternoon.
The Washington State Patrol says all vehicles were northbound on 101 in lane one of two about 12:45 PM. At milepost 363 (near Mud Bay Road), an SUV, a car and a motorcycle were slowing for traffic. A truck wasn’t able to slow in time and struck the motorcycle. The bike then struck the car. And the car struck the SUV. The highway was blocked for two hours and 45 minutes.
The rider of the motorcycle, identified as Daniel Zabresky, 46 of Olympia, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Four people in the car were injured and transported to St. Peter’s Hospital in Olympia: the driver, a 40-year-old Yelm man, and his passengers, a 23-year-old Yelm man, a 55-year-old woman from Newport News, VA, and a 44-year-old McKenna man.
The driver of the truck, a 41-year-old Rochester man, and the driver of the SUV, a 45-year-old Puyallup man, were not injured.
A press memo indicates that the cause of the crash was the truck following too close.