Traffic was backed up 5 miles Thursday morning after a man was hit by two trucks while crossing I-5 in Everett. (Washington State Department of Transportation)

Traffic was backed up for 5 miles over two hours during the Thursday morning commute.

EVERETT — A man was hit by two vehicles and injured while crossing the southbound lanes of I-5 early Thursday morning in Everett.

The Seattle man, 44, was crossing from east to west, just south of the Highway 526 interchange around 4:45 a.m. A Chevrolet Silverado truck driven by a 63-year-old Marysville man hit him. Then a Dodge Ram truck driven by a 44-year-old Darrington man also hit the pedestrian, who was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

The extent of his injuries and his condition was unclear.

The Washington State Patrol is investigating Thursday’s incident.

Traffic was backed up 5 miles, creating a stop-and-go morning commute over two hours.

It is the latest incidence of a person on foot trying to cross the freeway.

In the final four months of 2018, three people were killed farther north on I-5, near Stanwood. Two men died doing so in two days in December.

Nationally, pedestrian fatalities increased 27 percent between 2007 to 2016, according to a study by the Governors Highway Safety Association. All other traffic deaths dropped by 14 percent over that time.

In Snohomish County, there were 30 pedestrian fatalities between 2015 and 2017, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. There were 119 serious injuries during that period.

Sometimes, people think they can make the risky sprint across the interstate.

But that is not always the reason.

Medical conditions, mental health issues and intoxication sometimes are factors.

In the September crash, a witness reported a man was wearing a mask and holding a long stick in the right lane of the freeway, according to state patrol records. The Sedro-Woolley man, 37, was struck by two cars on northbound I-5.

On Dec. 30, a Stanwood man, 33, was killed when he was struck by several vehicles in the left lane of southbound I-5. His death was classified as accidental.

The next day, a Mount Vernon man, 30, was struck in the northbound center lane. His death was classified as a suicide by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner.

Thursday morning’s incident occurred less than a day after a man jumped onto I-5 from the 41st Street overpass in Everett. He, too, was injured and taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. The incident delayed traffic for a short time in the early afternoon.

Herald editor Eric Stevick contributed to this report.

Ben Watanabe: bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3037; Twitter @benwatanabe.