Courtesy Photo, Federal Way Police

Courtesy Photo, Federal Way Police

Fatal Federal Way crash leads to charges

A Jan. 10 Pacific Highway crash left a 19-year-old dead, another injured, and an 18-year-old facing charges.

A 19-year-old man died as a result of a car crash in Federal Way on Pacific Highway, resulting in an 18-year-old man facing vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges.

According to Federal Way Police Department Cmdr. Kyle Buchanan, at about 9:30 p.m. Jan. 10, officers responded to an injury collision in the 36000 block of Pacific Highway South. The preliminary investigation showed that the driver of vehicle one was driving northbound on Pacific Highway South, crossed the center line and then collided with vehicle two.

Buchanan said that a 19-year-old male passenger in vehicle one was declared deceased at the scene by medics. The driver of vehicle two was injured and was transported to Harborview Medical Center.

According to the King County Medical Examiner’s decedents list, the 19-year-old man who died was Veaceslav Suhatchi. According to the medical examiner, Suhatchi’s cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner of his death was an accident.

The driver of vehicle one, an 18-year-old male, showed signs of impairment and was arrested and booked into King County Jail for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, Buchanan said.

According to the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention’s jail lookup portal, the 18-year-old male is currently at the King County Correctional Facility, held on $100,000 bail. According to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney, the case may be referred to the prosecutor’s office this week for an official charging decision, depending on the ongoing investigation.


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