UPDATE: Crashes close 16th SW south of downtown White Center after King County Sheriff’s Office pursuit

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts | White Center

8:33 PM: This is just developing now along 16th SW in White Center – according to emergency-radio traffic, King County Sheriff’s Deputies were pursuing a vehicle (we don’t yet know why) and, after use of the PIT maneuver, it ended with collisions reported on 16th SW – one around SW 104th and another around SW 100th. We’re on our way to find out more. In the meantime, if you have to go through White Center, avoid that stretch of street.

8:44 PM: Photo above is from the scene at 16th/100th. Road closures start there/southward. So far, we’ve learned only that this began with an incident in SeaTac. A suspect is in custody.

9:17 PM: Added photo from 104th scene. Deputies at the scenes aren’t commenting but we just talked by phone with KCSO Capt. Tim Meyer. He says they started chasing the suspect as a “followup to an open and active investigation from a couple days ago” and that the 104th collision happened during the pursuit, with the suspect’s vehicle coming to a stop at the WC Starbucks. Capt. Meyer said two people were taken to hospitals – one to St. Anne in Burien, one to Harborview Medical Center.

9:54 PM: Going back through archived radio exchanges from the start of the pursuit, the only additional detail we can deduce is that the red pickup truck (partly seen in the background of the top photo) is what the suspect was in, and that the deputy who started trying to pull him over recognized him from a “bulletin” that had been circulated regarding the earlier case.

Helen Johnson May 24, 2022 (8:35 pm)

Yea, I’m going around this mess—avoid the area if you can.

Robert J Schmidt May 24, 2022 (8:46 pm)

Maximum police and emergency response at 8:33

Rocket May 25, 2022 (5:18 am)

The driver of the white car would probably have an argument about how necessary it was to chase down the red truck.

Rick May 27, 2022 (5:05 pm)

Being the passenger in the white car with two broken legs, I agree. The reasoning for the pursuit explained to me by the police did not make it appear their was immediate danger that justified chasing the truck at high speeds and in a high traffic area.

Barista May 25, 2022 (5:55 am)

The red truck crashed into a Starbucks delivery truck, so expect outages of breakfast/lunch sandwiches and certain types of dairy/non-dairy beverages at local Starbucks locations today.

Jethro Marx May 25, 2022 (6:02 pm)

Geez, Starbucks, read the news/room.

justme May 25, 2022 (6:27 am)

So the suspect’s vehicle is the red truck, and the people in the white car are victims of the police maneuver?

Jay May 25, 2022 (8:23 am)

Cops think they’re in action movies. They initiated a chased based on a vehicle recognized from a crime two days before, which is a situation where nobody was in danger. Then they chased the pickup and did a PIT maneuver in a busy stretch of road causing multiple collisions and sending bystanders to the hospital. They need to get out of this action movie mindset and behave more professionally. This is unacceptable. Initiating a chase on that spot of 16th was incredibly reckless and irresponsible.

Brent May 25, 2022 (9:53 am)

The truck looks like it could be the one stolen from Des Moines a few days ago. Posted on Nextdoor.

Eric1 May 25, 2022 (9:56 am)

Why blame the police? It is their job to apprehend criminals. Obviously the driver is a well known problem citizen that shouldn’t be on the street given the current no vehicle chase short of murder guidelines. I would say that the perp’s insurance should be responsible for insuring an idiot like this (I bet they have a stellar credit rating). But the chances of the scum even having insurance is somewhere between slim and none. Seattle/King County/Washington rewards bad behavior and seems to think that people incapable of learning life lessons deserve extra chances. But I am sure that the slap on the wrist after this current debacle will surely change their life trajectory this time.

Rick May 27, 2022 (5:11 pm)

The driver was on a bulletin from a possible indecent two days earlier. The police have specific rules for such chases. If the person does not demonstrate an immediate threat then they are supposed to cut it off if it goes high speed (the truck was doing 70 when it hit the white car) or into areas of high traffic. Both were later true. So, you are right he probably doesn’t have insurance so who is going to pay for my car and the two broken legs I suffered. …speaking as the passenger of the white car.

Gill & Alex May 25, 2022 (10:05 am)

Tracy, can you tell us where the white car fits into all this? Was it involved in the PIT maneuver? We heard all the sirens shortly after 8:30 and wondered what was going on. Checked here and found out.

WSB May 25, 2022 (10:14 am)

The collision happened during the pursuit. Whether KCSO or the pursued driver hit the white car or whether it was some sort of chain reaction, don’t know (yet – have not made today’s round of followup inquiries). However, it was noted in deputies’ radio discussion that the ST bus is likely to have it all on video.
- Rick May 27, 2022 (5:26 pm)
  
  <passenger in the white car> It was the red truck that hit us doing about 70mph. He kept going. The police stopped the guy after that.
Rick May 27, 2022 (5:14 pm)

From the passenger in the white car, we were on our way to get dinner. He kept going after he his our car at near 70mph. The PT maneuver happened after he hit us.

anonyme May 25, 2022 (5:23 pm)

It seems pretty irresponsible to perform a pit maneuver in a busy intersection. Obviously, I don’t know all the details, but unless the pursued was in the process of a terrorist attack, it doesn’t seem like totaling a vehicle and sending innocent people to the hospital was a reasonable choice.

Sorry, comment time is over.