Driver crashes at 100 mph after fleeing police, passenger killed at the scene

Splintered wood and car parts scattered across the length of a football field along Airport Way South Thursday morning after a Jeep Cherokee struck a light pole at more than 100 miles per hour, according to the Washington State Patrol (WSP).

State troopers said one female passenger riding inside that Jeep died at the scene. The female driver is under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

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According to investigators, a state trooper originally stopped the vehicle along Interstate 5 (I-5) around 7 a.m. for expired tags, but the driver took off at a high rate of speed. That trooper did not chase after the vehicle, but later spotted it and tried to stop the driver again. Investigators said the driver rammed the trooper’s cruiser and sped away, this time down toward Airport Way where the crash occurred.

Troopers said they were not actively pursuing the vehicle when it hit the light pole.

“We obviously encourage people to just pull over and have a conversation because when they don’t and they choose to run, we have unfortunate outcomes sometimes,” WSP Lt. Christopher Noll said. “In this situation, we do have the unfortunate outcome that someone in the vehicle is deceased.”

The Jeep, heading southbound, struck the side of the wooded light pole and a thick wooden support pole before launching down Airport Way. Witnesses told troopers the Jeep rolled multiple times in the air before making contact again with the road. Large splinters from that pole, some more than five feet long, were found hundreds of feet away. Pieces of the Jeep’s bumper, headlamps and other parts dot the length of the accident scene.

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The driver of the Jeep was transported to Harborview Medical Center. There’s no word on her condition. Troopers believe she could face charges of vehicular homicide.

Luke Duecy is a reporter for KIRO Newsradio.