A police chase ended in a fatal crash on State Route 7 in Spanaway. Possible charges against the driver who allegedly took off are now facing.
A Washington State Trooper attempted to stop a driver on State Route 7 in Parkland, but the driver took off.
He kept going until he crashed into a pickup truck, leaving a passenger dead in his car.
That suspect has not yet been booked into the Pierce County Jail. A spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office says he is likely still in the hospital.
After all, the accident at this intersection was devastating.
Both drivers were seriously injured. And one man is dead.
“All I’ve seen is tragedy,” Lilly Afton said, shaking her head.
A young neighbor left home to go shopping nearby when she saw what was left after a police chase ended in a fatal accident.
“I mean, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Afton said. ‘And the traffic? Miles.”
According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, a state trooper spotted a speeding Lexus sedan on State Route 7 or Pacific Avenue South in Parkland late Saturday afternoon. He turned around, caught up to the Lexus and then activated the lights and sirens. But the driver of the Lexus took off.
“Ultimately, the suspect lost control, veered into the oncoming lanes and slid sideways into the corner of an F-150 pickup,” said Sgt. Darren Moss Jr., spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. “The passenger in that suspect vehicle, a Lexus sedan, died at the scene.”
The driver of the pickup was also seriously injured. The 44-year-old Tacoma man was taken to the trauma unit at Saint Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma with serious injuries. The suspect, a 24-year-old Tacoma man, also remains hospitalized.
“The next step in this investigation is to await the toxicology report for the blood draw we did on the suspected driver,” said Sgt. Moss.
“It was quite a scene,” Jesse Hume said.
It’s all disturbing for this neighbor.
“I believe the police have a reason to pursue,” Hume said. “But I think there are certain reasons when you know it’s going to be this, I think we just have to stop.”
The passenger who died is believed to be a 50-year-old man from Graham. We don’t know his relationship with the driver.
That driver now faces several charges, including second-degree murder, vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
He will be booked into the Pierce County Jail when he is released from the hospital.
