BURIEN, Wash — The driver of a stolen vehicle is now facing a charge of vehicular homicide after he crashed into a pickup truck head-on in Burien Monday morning, killing the pickup's driver.
It happened near Southern Heights Elementary School. It occurred before school started and no students or school staff were involved or injured.
The driver of the pickup was identified Monday evening by family members as Carlos Recinos.
"People have been reaching out, it's so sad," said Recinos' cousin, Walter Lopez.
Lopez said his cousin was driving to work just before 8 a.m. when his red truck was hit head-on by a Subaru Outback, which police confirmed was stolen a day earlier.
"My cousin called me telling me what happened and that's why I'm standing here, I can't believe what I see," said Lopez.
Recinos died at the scene. The King County Sheriff's Department said his wife and sister-in-law happened to be passing by right after the accident.
"We had a chaplain respond to the scene and they've been with the family the entire time, so our thoughts and prayers are with that family," said the sheriff's department.
Sheriff deputies are still working to determine how the crash happened.
The driver of the stolen car is a man in his 30s. He was taken to the hospital with broken bones and is expected to be okay. When he's out, he'll be charged with vehicular homicide, according to officials.
Lopez said his cousin has been in the community for 20 years and started a painting business last year. Recinos was also a husband and father to a teenage boy.
"I'm so sad," said Lopez, "because this is a really big loss to my family."
