Texting allegedly plays role in deadly car crash in Terrace

Published 1:30 am Sunday, September 3, 2017

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — A 26-year-old Monroe woman died Friday after the vehicle she was riding in struck a tree in Mountlake Terrace while the driver was texting, police said.

The driver, a 26-year-old Edmonds man, was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide.

The vehicle was southbound in the 22100 block of 48th Avenue W. about 11:30 p.m. Police said the driver was answering a text message when his vehicle went off the road. It plowed through about 20 feet of brush and struck a tree, said Cmdr. Doug Hansen with the Mountlake Terrace Police Department.

The vehicle caught fire, and flames spread to nearby trees.

Police arrived shortly after and saw a bystander performing CPR on the Monroe woman, Hansen said. She died at the scene.

The driver was not seriously injured.

The case remains under investigation.