MARYSVILLE — A 26-year-old Lake Stevens woman was killed late Friday night when her car was hit by a truck being chased by police.
The fatal collision occurred near the intersection of 33rd Avenue and Marine Drive just west of I-5.
It was the last of three accidents within four blocks involving the Dodge truck that was being chased by Marysville officers.
The driver of the truck was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.
No one else was injured seriously.
People gathered at the accident site on Saturday afternoon.
Cindy Langmas, owner of the Pacific Rim Club and Events Center, said the woman worked at the front desk of the nearby Best Western hotel.
She only knew the woman by her first name, saying that she ate at her club several times.
“She was a lovely person and very funny. She was enjoyable to be around,” Langmas said.
A man who was standing with Langmas said that he was a coworker of the woman at the Best Western.
He declined to give her name, but said she was a great person and was a student at Everett Community College.
A little while later, Brian Chandler of Marysville brought flowers to the crash site. He did not know her well, he said. She was a friend of his wife and his sister-in-law and he didn’t know the woman’s full name.
Even though he only saw her a couple of times, he described her as outgoing and always having a smile.
“She had a great plan for life,” he said. “She was making her way forward in life.”
The medical examiner hadn’t released the woman’s identity as of Saturday evening.
The accident occurred shortly after 11:15 p.m. Friday night, according to the Marysville police.
Officers received a report of a suspected drunk driver in a Dodge truck driving erratically on Grove Street west of State Avenue.
Police received another report that the truck had parked along Grove.
Marysville officers saw the Dodge truck heading south on Cedar Avenue. The truck turned into the wrong lane of traffic onto Fourth Avenue. Police attempted to pull the driver over.
The truck then drove over a concrete barrier at Fourth and struck a vehicle, then started heading west.
The chase went under the I-5 overpass toward the Tulalip Reservation where the truck hit a second car in the center lane near where Fourth becomes Marine Drive.
Then the truck hit the vehicle driven by the Lake Stevens woman. After the crash, she was trapped inside her vehicle with no signs of life, according to the police.
Officers attempted CPR on her until paramedics arrived.
She died at the scene.
The driver of the truck was briefly trapped inside his own vehicle when it caught fire. Officers were able to pull him out and extinguish the flames quickly.
He has not been booked into jail to allow detectives more time to gather evidence, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. John Flood said. The man is not considered a flight risk.
“We don’t want to rush this. We want to do it right,” he said Saturday afternoon.
The man could face charges of vehicular homicide, eluding a police officer, hit and run and other charges, Flood said.
The Marysville Police Department was involved in the pursuit. The Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the traffic collision.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
