On Tuesday, three people suffered injuries following a multi-vehicle accident in Spanaway.
As per the initial information, the four-vehicle pile-up took place on Pacific Avenue at 180th Street South. The incident began approximately a mile north of the crash scene, near a coffee shop on 166th Street South. Officers responded to the scene at around 8:03 a.m. on reports of two people passed out in a vehicle with their blinkers and windshield wipers on. On arrival, responders woke the two people and asked for their information, but they did not cooperate.
The man in the passenger seat started the car, put the vehicle in reverse and insisted the driver to take off. The female driver reversed into a patrol vehicle behind her, then continued forward over a bush and onto side street before turning south on Pacific Avenue. An officer chased the vehicle and found it crashed at 180th Street East. When officers found the vehicle, the man in the passenger seat attempted to run on foot.
He was arrested by troopers in a parking lot. It is unknown how the accident happened, but Central Pierce Fire & Rescue said the vehicle that caused it was going at a dangerous speed. The driver of the fleeing vehicle was placed into custody at the scene. Officials determined that the vehicle’s VIN did not match its license plate, and it was found out that the vehicle was stolen from Frederickson in mid-June. Two small dogs were also in that vehicle.
One was ejected and found by a witness, but the second dog could not be found. The two people in the fleeing vehicle were taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries. The driver of another vehicle involved in the crash sustained serious injuries. The driver of the stolen vehicle, a 24-year-old woman, was recovering from her injuries Wednesday.
Once she is released from the hospital, she will be booked into jail for investigation of first-degree assault, felony hit-and-run, vehicular assault, DUI, eluding a police vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, second-degree animal cruelty and several drug-related offenses. The passenger in that vehicle, a 32-year-old man, was booked on suspicion of first-degree assault, felony hit-and-run, vehicular assault, possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia. No other details are made available.
The incident remains under review.
July 14, 2022
Source: The News Tribune