TACOMA, Wash. — A 57-year-old semi-truck driver was hit and killed by two teen suspects fleeing Lakewood Police Department (LPD) officers early Thursday morning, LPD confirmed.
LPD officers made contact with a vehicle suspected in a Tacoma burglary overnight around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, and attempted a traffic stop. The suspect vehicle fled at a high rate of speed and 10-15 seconds after the officers attempted the traffic stop, the suspect vehicle crashed into a semi-truck.
The driver of the semi-truck was ejected upon impact and landed on the Interstate 5 freeway below the overpass. Life-saving measures were attempted by first responders, but the driver was declared dead at the hospital.
The two juvenile suspects, both aged 16, were taken into custody. The two suspects had to be extracted from the vehicle and were taken to different local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
A fuel spill was identified following the collision. Firefighters were at the scene managing the spill, according to WSDOT.
The crash occurred near Joint Base Lewis-McChord and closed the Madigan Gate, one of the main access points for the facility.
The teens are suspects in the convenience store robbery in Tacoma. According to the store owner, the robbers shot at both the cashier and a customer during the robbery, but the gun misfired both times.
Assistant Police Chief John Unfred says investigators are also aware of another robbery that occurred in King County before the one in Tacoma, and the vehicle used in that robbery matches.
An LPD spokesperson said the suspects' vehicle was a stolen KIA.
Unfred says this is becoming too common in Lakewood.
“We pulled our numbers and just juvenile suspects with robberies and vehicle thefts have doubled and tripled in the last year,” Unfred said. “You can see the results today. An innocent person was killed, so there’s tragic consequences, and we’re concerned for the kids, these are 15, 16-year-old kids, and we’re concerned where this is going.”
All lanes of southbound Interstate 5 were reopened after the fatal crash closed two right lanes on southbound I-5.
"Expect this to be an extended incident. After the police investigation, we'll have the complicated task of removing the semi-truck," WSDOT Tacoma said in a tweet on Thursday morning.
Tacoma Police is also encouraging the community to reach out when they see suspicious activity in order to prevent a more tragic outcome.
“Please give us a call,” Boyd said. “We got to stop the madness. We’re getting beyond what I know we’re comfortable with.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.