Driver of stolen car dies in fiery crash near Snohomish

SNOHOMISH — A 19-year-old man died Monday night after a police pursuit ended in a fiery crash at Cathcart Way and Highway 9.

The driver died at the scene, said Everett police officer Aaron Snell, a spokesman for the Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team, a countywide group of detectives that investigates deaths when police officers are involved.

The vehicle, a 1994 BMW sedan, was reported stolen around 9 p.m. from the 14600 block of 58th Drive SE in an unincorporated area near Everett.

Deputies spotted the car heading east on Cathcart Way and began following it. The car drove across Highway 9 and went off the roadway, Snell said.

“It wasn’t a big, long or involved pursuit,” Snell said.

The car drove across the highway, but Cathcart Road does not continue on the east side of the highway. As a result, the car drove into a wooded area and over an embankment, Snell said.

The vehicle caught fire and the driver died at the scene despite rescue attempts, Snell said. There were no passengers in the car.

The driver’s name was not released Tuesday.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death and confirm the man’s identity, Snell said.

A master patrol deputy with eight years of experience, a deputy with nine years of service and a four-year Mill Creek police were involved in the incident.

In 2014, at least two fleeing drivers crashed and died in Snohomish County moments after local police called off their pursuits.

At least four high-speed police chases ended in a death in 2013, one of which involves a still-pending legal claim against Lynnwood. In two of those cases, the fleeing drivers were sent to prison for second-degree murder after crashing into and killing people who were not involved in the chase.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.