Elderly Man Dies in Crash on I-5 in Hazel Dell—Klog 100.7 News

An elderly Vancouver man was killed in a single-vehicle crash after suffering a medical event on I-5 in Hazel Dell.

First responders were on the scene of the crash at milepost 4 of I-5 Northbound, near the exit to 78th Street, around 11:13 a.m. There, they found 79-year-old Richard Willard in a 2001 Chevy Suburban that had crashed into a chain-link fence. Willard was taken to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Willard was driving northbound on the exit to 78th Street when he suffered a medical event. The vehicle veered into the right shoulder, scraping the concrete barrier before continuing into the grass. The Suburban came to rest after hitting the chain-link fence.

Richard had been wearing a seatbelt; it is currently unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved.