Biker outing turns into I-90 tangle

A group of bikers who call themselves the “California Motor Maids” tied up the morning commute Wednesday when one of them rear-ended an unrelated motorcyclist, causing a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 90 near Flora Road.

No one was seriously injured.

According to Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Baker, the bike-rally-turned-crash began about 7:45 a.m. as the six women rode west on I-90. A male biker passed the group on the left. When the Motor Maids moved into the left lane behind him, traffic slowed and one of the women rear-ended the man.

He didn’t crash, but she did, taking another Redding, Calif., Motor Maid with her. Both women went tumbling onto the median grass.

Then another motorist hit one of the crashed motorcycles with his pickup truck.

The sequence of events blocked the freeway for only a short time, but traffic was disrupted for much of the morning commute as people slowed to see what was happening.

The women suffered scratches and scrapes but were otherwise fine.

“They were in good spirits,” said Baker.

Their two bikes were another story. They will have to be repaired, and the women will continue their trip in a rental car.

At least it will have air conditioning.