Driver arrested after head-on accident on I-5

A Ridgefield man was arrested after a head-on collision between a commercial truck and a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 5 late Monday. Four of the freeway's six lanes were closed temporarily after the collision, which occurred in the southbound lanes a mile north of Northeast 179th Street.The driver of a flatbed commercial 1 ton truck, identified as Andrew Stephenson, 50, of Ridgefield, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, said State Patrol Trooper Jennifer Ortiz.

Stephenson was accused of driving his truck northbound in the southbound lanes of the freeway when he collided with a semi tractor-trailer rig drven by Baldev Singh, 57, of Antelope, Calif. Singh was hauling a load of paper products, according to police radio reports.

The accident occurred about 10 p.m. Ortiz said that Stephenson apparently drove onto the freeway the wrong way from the 179th street offramp.

No one was injured, though approximately 76 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled, said Leah Edwards, a spokeswoman for Clark County Fire District 6. Both trucks suffered extensive damage.

Despite the late hour, traffic was snarled in both directions.