We’re still awaiting word from the Washington State Patrol on the cause of the accident, or whether there were any injuries or fatalities, and when we do we’ll update this post.

We sent Photographer Michael Brunk over, and he shot these pics:

The first 911 call occurred at 1:53am Sunday morning, and in total, eleven 911 callers followed, updating the State Patrol communications center of the vehicle’s exact location. With that information, communications officers were able to dispatch troopers in the area.

Troopers apprehended the driver without incident and immediately detected that the driver was under the influence of alcohol.

The wrong way driver was booked into the King County Jail on charges of DUI.

UPDATE 5pm 4/16/10: The latest Tweet from the Washington State Department of Transportation reads:

“SR 509 in Normandy Park – Crews have opened one lane and are alternating traffic through the area.”

PREVIOUSLY: According to a Tweet sent out around 2pm this afternoon from the Washington State Department of Transportation:

“A gas leak has shut down both directions of SR 509 (1st Avenue S.) in Normandy Park, just north of Des Moines.”

We’re trying to get more info on this, and as we do we’ll give updates.

If any Readers drove through the area or experienced it, please email us.

Police say that at approximately 12:11pm, Haybe Ahmed, 46, of Tukwila, was driving his 1991 Toyota Camry northbound on SR-509 in lane 1 when he drove across lane 2 and collided with the left guardrail just north of 128th Street.

The guardrail, which was completely embedded inside the passenger compartment (see photos below), prevented Haybe from crossing into the southbound lanes and causing a head-on collision.

Haybe was trapped inside the vehicle until medics arrived and were able to extricate him.

Ahmed was transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, and Troopers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.

It is undetermined at this time if alcohol and/or drugs were a factor.

The left lanes of both northbound and southbound SR-509 were closed at 128th St for approximately 2 1⁄2 hours while troopers investigated the scene.

Here are photos from the scene courtesy WSP:

The Washington State Patrol is looking for witnesses to Wednesday morning’s fatal multiple car accident on I-5 in the southbound lanes of I-5 in Tukwila near SR-518.

The fatality was a 43-year old Seattleite who was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser without a seatbelt. A passenger in a Toyota Camry was treated for minor injuries at the scene, while others involved were not injured.

Most of southbound I-5 was closed during the morning rush hour while police and detectives investigated the scene.

If you saw the accident, you are urged to call 425-401-7719 as soon as possible.

by Ralph Nichols

Burien long has wanted an interchange connecting State Route 518 with Des Moines Memorial Drive to improve access to businesses that, city officials hope, will move into the Northeast Redevelopment Area (NERA).

Now an interchange from SR 509 to NERA, located under flight paths from Sea-Tac International Airport north to S. 138th St., is also under consideration.

Burien City Manager Mike Martin said recently that any interchange on SR 509 would provide access to the Northeast Redevelopment Area.

“No one has agreed to a 509 interchange,” Martin stressed. “This is just a concept. There are only draft plans (at the city) now.” And it’s not on any to-do list at the Washington State Department of Transportation or the Puget Sound Regional Council.

Both the Port of Seattle, which owns much of the property in the area, and the city anticipate business and commercial development here within a few years. Business parks, technology and light industry, and auto sales – perhaps an auto mall, to which dealers now on 1st Ave. S. would relocate, all could play a role in the economic development of the NERA.

“This property has been blighted by the second runway and now the third runway,” Martin said. “What we are doing (by planning for a new interchange) is trying to make NERA more accessible so we can put this property back into use.”

He added that the area “is large enough to accommodate small box stores and retailers of construction materials.” But the market will determine what kind of businesses locate here. In the meantime, “we need to prepare the area to be ready for certain types of activities.”

The cost of a new interchange, including planning, design and construction, has yet to be determined, Martin said. Most of the financing probably would come from federal and state funds.

So far, he’s talked with local state legislators, “who have received the idea very warmly.”