EVERETT, Wash. -- A Snohomish man discovered yellow paint all along the driver side of his truck. But this wasn't some act of vandalism.
James Traver says it happened while he was driving south on Interstate 5 in Everett Tuesday morning.
He noticed a yellow line of paint running down the center of the HOV lane and then spotted a Washington State Department of Transportation striper truck with the paint leaking from the back end.
"Trying to drive and be safe, trying to signal this guy, one arm out the window and wiggling my fingers like rain or something and pointing at the ground, and I don't know if this guy thought I was nuts or what," Traver said.
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Everett paint stripe mistake
Q13 FOX News
The WSDOT truck traveled a little more than a half-mile before pulling over.
"The truck made a hard left over to the shoulder and I was like, thank God! This guy was laying down a swath that was going to confuse people," Traver said.
It wasn't until later in the evening that James noticed the yellow splotches stretching from the front to the rear of his truck.
"Literally from front to back, I am a highway marker!" Traver said.
WSDOT released a statement saying the striper truck malfunctioned. And now, they plan to shut down two southbound lanes between 112th St. SE and 128th St. SW on Sunday from 5 to 10 a.m. to cover the yellow paint.
Traver believes he actually helped save the state some money by alerting the driver.
"They could have gone a mile or two maybe," he said.
As for the paint on his truck, Traver says it's really no big deal.
"I had to laugh at it, you know?"