A 61-year-old Federal Way woman was killed in a felony hit-and-run crash Monday evening, June 9 on northbound Interstate 5 in Kent near State Route 516.
A man driving a black 2019 Tesla Model 3 at about 6:46 p.m. was using all lanes of travel just north of SR 516, according to the Washington State Patrol. A man and a woman in a gray 2000 Lexus ES sedan were in lane two of five when the Tesla driver reportedly struck the rear of the Lexus, which then struck the guardrail on the right shoulder.
The Tesla came to rest on the right shoulder, according to State Patrol. The Lexus came to rest in lane one.
Liz Vili-Kereti, a passenger in the Lexus, died at the scene. Paramedics transported an 18-year-old male driver of the Lexus to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
State Patrol detectives are looking for the Tesla driver, identified as a 26-year-old Federal Way man, who fled the scene on foot.
“We are asking him to turn himself in,” Trooper Rick Johnson said in a Tuesday morning, June 10 phone interview.
Johnson said the family of the man showed up at the crash scene because they had received a crash notification from the Tesla. That is how troopers identified the male driver. Johnson said the family is cooperating with State Patrol.
Speed was listed as the cause of crash, according to State Patrol. It is unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved.
The roadway was blocked for 3 hours and 30 minutes.
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