Wreck victims begged driver to let them out, documents say
Published 11:33 pm Monday, September 17, 2007
LYNNWOOD — Two people in a stolen car speeding away from police Saturday night begged the driver to stop and let them out, according court documents.
The car stopped only when it crashed into a utility pole, leaving an Edmonds man dead and a Lynnwood woman hurt.
The driver, a 25-year-old drifter, was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide after being treated and released from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, police said.
A judge Monday set his bail at $85,000. The man, a convicted felon, also is being held on suspicion of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, eluding police and outstanding warrants.
On Monday afternoon, the Snohomish County medical examiner had not yet identified the 38-year-old man who died.
The woman, 20, was treated and released from Harborview.
The incident began when police were responding to a report of a stolen car Saturday night in the 20800 block of Highway 99, Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.
As soon as the driver saw the patrol cars, the Subaru Outback started to speed up, Sessions said. The car sped through stop signs, drove into oncoming traffic and reached speeds of more than 80 mph on city streets, court documents said.
Officers lost sight of the car as it raced through the S-curves on 212th Street SW near Hall Lake, documents said.
The Lynnwood woman told police that the car was going “really, really fast” when it headed into the S-curves and lost control, documents said.
Police came upon the car crashed in a cloud of dust. Officers arrested the driver, who they believe was attempting to run away, documents said.
Investigators believe the car skidded more than 450 feet into the pole, then continued another 215 feet before stopping, the documents said.
The woman passenger told police she believed the driver was using methamphetamine at the time of the crash, documents said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
