Washington State Patrol Trooper Kirk Rudeen said an SUV was southbound on I-5 when it crossed into oncoming traffic about 3:15 p.m. and crashed head-on into a large passenger bus near 88th Street Northeast.

The driver of the SUV was killed instantly and the vehicle burst into flames in the middle of the freeway. There were no passengers on the bus, but the driver was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where her condition was not known.

Northbound traffic was shut down and southbound traffic was also briefly stopped to allow the airlift helicopter to land on the interstate.

It was not known what caused the driver of the SUV to lose control.

The bus was a Malaspina Coach Line, based in Vancouver, B.C. The bus driver had just dropped off a group of high school band members at Sea-Tac Airport for a trip to Hawaii. The bus was heading back to Vancouver when the crash occurred.

Traffic in the area was backed up for several miles.