State patrol detectives seek witnesses to deadly I-5 crash

The Washington State Patrol’s Major Accident Investigation Team (M.A.I.T.) is seeking additional witnesses to the car/semi-truck fatality collision that occurred Sunday, June 22, 2014, on I-5 near Headquarters Road in Cowlitz County.

At approximately 4:04 a.m., Kerri Hartnett-McGill of Edmonds was traveling south on I-5 when she traveled off the roadway to the left, crossed into the northbound lanes of I-5 and collided with a northbound tractor trailer. Hartnett-McGill was fatally injured; her 4-year-old daughter riding in a child seat in the rear of the Acura was severely injured. The driver of the semi-truck was not injured, and escaped the truck before it burned.

The State Patrol had two contacts with Harnett-McGill earlier that morning, and did not detect evidence of impairment or excessive fatigue.

Detectives wish to contact anyone else who had contact with Hartnett-McGill in the 24 hours before her death. It is routine

for detectives to reconstruct the previous 24 hours in the lives of drivers involved in fatal collisions. The purpose it to learn about any relevant activities, medical issues, possible drug or alcohol use, and the amount of sleep they’d received.

If you have any information about the crash itself or Ms. Hartnett-McGill’s activities in the 24 hours before the crash, contact

M.A.I.T Detective Sergeant Jerry Cooper at (360) 805-1192 or Detective Dan Comnick at (360) 805-1160.