KING COUNTY, Wash. — One of three carjacking suspects who were taken to Harborview Medical Center after crashing a stolen vehicle while trying to escape officers in Black Diamond has died. The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) said the three suspects are reportedly between 15-17 years old.
According to KCSO Sgt. Eric White, the incident started just before 11:30 p.m. Monday when a man called 911 to report he had been carjacked. The man told dispatchers he was rear ended by another vehicle, and someone from that vehicle jumped out of the car with a gun and stole his silver Hyundai Elantra. According to the Black Diamond Police Department (BDPD), the rear-end crash was intentional.
The KCSO said the man called 911 near the intersection of Southeast 288th Street and 228th Avenue Southeast, which is just inside Maple Valley city limits, but it was later determined the car was stolen from Kent.
Two officers with the BDPD, assisting the KCSO, located the stolen Elantra while driving west in the 22000 block of SE 296th Street. The vehicle was seen driving at a high rate of speed traveling in the opposite direction, according to police.
The KCSO initially said BDPD officers pursued the stolen vehicle, but the department later clarified officers never initiated a pursuit. The stolen vehicle was already out of the BDPD officers’ sight once they found the opportunity to slow down and turn around in an effort to initiate a pursuit, the department said.
The stolen vehicle was found crashed into a tree near the intersection of 224th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 297th Street in Black Diamond. Puget Sound Fire first posted about the “serious vehicle” crash just before 1:15 a.m. Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The three occupants of the stolen vehicle were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with what the BDPD said appeared to be significant life-threatening injuries. The BDPD said the driver of the stolen vehicle died at Harborview. White said three suspects are teenagers, reportedly “between the ages of possibly 15-17 years old.”
White said the stolen Elantra was recovered and impounded by the KCSO. Investigators are waiting for a search warrant to be served to search the vehicle for evidence. A section of 224th Avenue Southeast was closed for several hours during the investigation before reopening just before 5 a.m. The sheriff’s office said the Washington State Patrol (WSP) is investigating the crash and the KCSO Major Crimes unit will follow up on the investigation.