Fugitive in Tacoma crash that killed 2 arrested after a year on the run

After a year on the run, a suspected drunken driver charged with killing two people in a Tacoma crash was arrested Wednesday night.

Investigators have been looking for Dennis Mouth, 26, since he was released from the hospital where he recovered from critical injuries and disappeared.

Mouth is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of vehicular assault and third-degree driving on a suspended or revoked license for a Feb. 27, 2016, wreck on Interstate 5.

Killed in the crash were Elias J. Solis, 19, of Roslyn, and Vuthy Khim, 25, of Tacoma. A third person, a 26-year-old passenger in the front seat, suffered serious injuries.

Charging papers give this account:

Mouth was traveling north on I-5 when he made a last-minute decision to take the Port of Tacoma off-ramp.

Witnesses saw his Lexus ES hit a hillside near the off-ramp, launch into the air and go down an embankment before hitting a wooden power pole.

Solis was pinned in the back seat and died at the scene. Khim died at a hospital March 1, 2016.

Both men were wearing seat belts. Mouth, who was believed to be drunk and driving on a suspended license, was not.

Detectives said the group had just left a house party when the crash happened.

Mouth was critically injured and transferred to a hospital in Oregon, where he was kept on a breathing machine.

Investigators checked on his status periodically and tried unsuccessfully to find him once they learned he’d been released to home care.

An anonymous tip led police to Mouth in Auburn.

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Fugitive in Tacoma crash that killed 2 arrested after a year on the run."