Cars collide at Tacoma intersection, killing 2 and badly injuring 1 in fiery wreck
Two cars collided early Wednesday morning in Tacoma at an intersection on Pacific Avenue, sending one car into a utility pole where it caught fire, killing two people and badly injuring another, according to police.
The wreck occurred at about 4:17 a.m. at Pacific Avenue and South 38th Street, according to Tacoma Police Department. Spokesperson Wendy Haddow said a driver going north through the intersection at a green light was struck by an eastbound car on 38th street occupied by three people.
The intersection was shut down for a collision investigation, and at about 7:50 a.m., Haddow said it was expected to be closed to traffic for several more hours. Police asked drivers to use alternate routes through the area.
Tacoma police and Tacoma Fire Department responded to the wreck. Haddow said two occupants of the eastbound car were pronounced dead at the scene. Neither person has been identified, police said. The third occupant, a 15-year-old boy, was transported to a hospital to be treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries.
It was the actions of a passerby that saved that teenager’s life, according to police. Haddow said an employee from the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office was one of the first people on the scene. She said the employee saw the car on fire and pulled the 15-year-old boy from the wreckage. Haddow called the person “heroic.”
“To risk their own life to save a 15-year-old is absolutely amazing,” Haddow said.
Police said the car the boy was in was going at a high speed. After it hit the other vehicle, it traveled at least 100 feet until the passenger side of the car came to a rest on a utility pole on South 38th Street. Haddow said it’s not yet clear who was driving.
The driver of the northbound car suffered a broken foot, and family members took him to a hospital, police said.
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 8:29 AM.
