Tractor-trailer driver held on $100K bail after fatal SR 167 crash in Auburn
Dec 15, 2025, 4:26 PM
A photo of the fatal collision along State Route 167 in Auburn. (Photo courtesy of the Washington State Department of Transportation)
(Photo courtesy of the Washington State Department of Transportation)
The driver of a tractor-trailer, who was arrested for vehicular homicide in Auburn last week, made his first appearance in court Friday and is being held on $100,000 bail.
On Dec. 11, at approximately 7:14 a.m., the man was driving a 2020 Freightliner tractor-trailer on northbound SR 167 when he allegedly killed a driver in a Mazda 3, according to court documents.
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Details of the SR 167 vehicular homicide
Traffic had slowed down and come to a stop, which caused the man to collide with the Mazda. The Mazda was then pushed into the rear of a 2016 Peterbilt Vac truck.
The Mazda was lodged underneath the Freightliner’s cabin, and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man initially told troopers that the Mazda rear-ended the Peterbilt truck, and then he struck the Mazda, according to court documents. The statement was made after Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Jacob Lilley had read him his Miranda rights.
The driver of the Peterbilt told WSP troopers that he was completely stopped for traffic at the time he was rear-ended. The driver immediately moved his truck to the shoulder, exited the vehicle, and noticed that a small passenger car was on fire.
After the collision, the man retrieved a fire extinguisher from his truck and attempted to douse the flames coming from the Mazda 3.
Evidence from the scene indicated that the man did not attempt any evasive maneuvers or brake for the stopped traffic.
According to probable cause documents, the man falsified his logbook, and the information was inconsistent with his location and driving hours.
“One of the purposes of logbooks is to prevent commercial drivers from driving over the allowed number of hours while being fatigued,” court documents stated. “It is not uncommon for commercial drivers to falsify their logbooks in order to drive longer distances and make more money.”
Ultimately, the man was taken into custody, and two of his iPhones were seized pending a search warrant. The information on the man’s cellphones can reveal his location and timestamp data, which can determine the number of hours he had been driving before the collision, and if he was driving while using his phone.
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