Man charged after a 1-year-old child was killed in SR 18 collision

A 1-year-old child was killed in a collision on State Route 18 (SR 18) caused by driver who crossed from the westbound lanes to the eastbound lanes Monday afternoon.

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) issued a statement to the press Monday night confirming the child, who was listed as 21 months old, died in the collision after the car traveling on SR 18 west left the road, crossed the median and struck the vehicle traveling east.

Alexis Andaluz-Lozano of Federal Way, 19, was the driver of the vehicle that crossed the median and moved the wrong way on SR 18 east. He has been charged with driving under the influence, vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.

A 27-year-old woman from Kent was the driver of the vehicle hit that had the child in the car. It is not yet known if that woman is related to the child who died.

The WSP confirmed the woman and Andaluz-Lozano were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Trooper Rick Johnson, a public information officer for the WSP reported on X earlier Monday afternoon some of the details of the the collision ahead of the agency’s release Monday night.

How the collision affected SR 18 traffic

Both directions of State Route 18 (SR 18) near SE 256th Street in Covington were closed for over an hour Monday afternoon after the collision, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reported in a series of posts on X. SR 18 east ended up being blocked for about four hours, the WSP stated in Monday night’s release.

The Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority also published posts about the collision on X and confirmed just after 5 p.m. Monday one person had died and two more people were airlifted into Seattle area. WSDOT explained at that time that both lanes were set to remain closed until the Life Flight helicopter that arrived the scene cleared the scene.

Both directions were blocked on State Route 18 (SR 18) near SE 256th Street in Covington after a collision on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Image courtesy of the Washington State Department of Transportation/@wsdot_traffic on X)

In an update posted to X at 5:08 p.m., WSDOT reported all SR 18 west lanes had reopened. However, all of the SR 18 east lanes remained blocked. The agency suggested drivers “continue to seek alternate routes and avoid the area if possible.” The published post stated backups had reached about four miles in both directions.

In its last X post about the incident just before 7:30 p.m., WSDOT reported all of the SR 18 east lanes had reopened and the road was clear.

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.