A 23-year-old Auburn man is in custody after a seven-vehicle pileup on northbound Interstate 5 left one person dead and seven others hospitalized.
The collision, which authorities have linked to high-speed street racing, occurred near South 200th Street in SeaTac at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 12.
The suspect, identified by Washington State Patrol Trooper Asher Gregory as Galvan Chavez, was driving a 2014 Lexus IS 250 when the crash occurred. Investigators say the Lexus struck several vehicles, including a van carrying a 68-year-old woman from China who died at the scene.
“The Lexus collided with multiple vehicles killing one person and seriously injuring numerous others,” Washington State Patrol reported in a press release.
Six of the injured victims were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, while an eighth individual was treated at the scene. The wreckage forced the closure of all northbound lanes for more than seven hours, with traffic flow not restored until Friday morning.
Witnesses told investigators that the Lexus was traveling at high speed alongside a white Infiniti sedan immediately before the impact. Detectives reviewing dashcam footage captured the two vehicles racing nearly one mile south of the crash site.
Additional callers reported that prior to the collision a black Lexus sedan and a white Infinity sedan were racing at a high speed without lights on prior to the collision. Washington State Patrol stated
Galvan Chavez was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and reckless driving. The driver of the white Infiniti fled the scene and remains at large.
“The driver of the Infinity did not stop,” according to Washington State Patrol.
At the scene, troopers administered a field sobriety test on Galvan Chavez, which returned a 0.000 breath test result. The suspect told detectives he was driving home to Burien after dropping off his son in Tacoma when he swerved to avoid another vehicle, triggering the chain-reaction crash.
Detectives are currently seeking additional witnesses or dashcam footage. Information may be directed to Detective Judah Bergeron at Judah. Bergeron@wsp.wa.gov.
Earlier coverage: Driver Arrested for DUI After Fatal Los Angeles Crash Kills 3