Three-car smash-up: Driver fleeing deputies wrecks on Pacific Avenue
A wild chase of a fleeing suspect ended Saturday with a three-car collision on Pacific Avenue South that blocked the road and left a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy and others injured.
Multiple agencies, including Tacoma police and the Washington State Patrol, are assisting with the investigation, said sheriff’s spokesperson Carly Cappetto.
“Just a really involved scene,” she said in a brief interview.
The incident began at 5:22 p.m., when a deputy tried to a stop a car at a South Tacoma apartment complex near South Steele Street, Cappetto said.
The driver, a 22-year-old man, tried to pull away, starting the first chase. The pursuing deputy had time to place a tracker on the fleeing vehicle, followed, then backed off, according to Cappetto. However, the tracker was still active.
The fleeing driver stopped, and tried to remove the tracker. At that moment, more deputies “attempted to swoop in and arrest him before he got back into the car,” Cappetto said.
They weren’t quick enough. The driver jumped back into the car and drove away, starting a second chase that “kind of goes all over the place,” Cappetto said.
The driver headed south on Pacific Avenue and “wrecked out,” hitting two other cars at the 11000 block. One car caught fire. At that point, the man ditched the car he was driving and ran toward Highway 512, where deputies corralled him.
Four people, including two children were riding in one of the cars the man struck, Cappetto said. They were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A responding deputy was also seriously injured, Cappetto said. She did not know the deputy’s condition.
“Non life-threatening, so he’ll be OK,” she said. “But I don’t know what the condition of his injury is.”
Investigators were still combing over the scene Sunday evening. They found a gun in the fleeing driver’s car, which was impounded. Cappetto said the man is being processed “on a blood warrant” for suspicion of impaired driving, and other potential offenses.
Pacific Avenue was closed in both directions at the scene as of 6:45 p.m., but “plenty of ways to go around,” Cappetto said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 7:09 PM.
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