Fatal collision on NB I-5 near Federal Way

Published 12:45 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Northbound I-5 was closed for four hours near SR-161 following a fatal collision on Tuesday morning.

At 9:28 a.m. on July 28, two vehicles were traveling in the same lane heading north on I-5, when the front vehicle – driven by Seiichi Okazaki, 53, of Kent – began to slow for traffic. The second vehicle, driven by Jason Reed, 30, of Elma, was unable to slow down and struck the rear of Okazaki’s vehicle.

Reed was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision and Washington State Patrol reports that he had died at the scene. Okazaki was not injured but there was reportable damage to both vehicles.