Buckley teen accused of fatal crash on I-5 was driving under the influence, charges say
A 17-year-old Buckley teenager is accused of causing a fatal wrong-way crash while driving under the influence on Interstate 5 last week.
Pierce County prosecutors charged the teenager with vehicular homicide, according to documents. He appeared at Pierce County Juvenile Court for arraignment Monday, where he was ordered held in secure detention at Remann Hall.
The News Tribune does not name juveniles who have not been charged as adults for a crime.
Washington State Patrol troopers were dispatched Thursday at about 11:32 p.m. for reports of a vehicle driving south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 just north of 72nd Street in Lakewood, according to the investigation report.
The report said there was a pickup and red Honda Civic facing the wrong way with front end damage at the scene. A woman was inside the driver’s seat of the Civic and was later declared dead at the scene, document show.
The woman was identified as 18-year-old Mia Lockard of Washougal, according to a Washington State Patrol news release.
Lockard and the 17-year-old were the only people inside their respective vehicles, documents show.
Several witnesses identified the 17-year-old as the driver of the pickup. A WSP trooper approached the teenager who said he was not injured, documents show.
The teenager advised that he did not see the car coming and was turning his pickup around because he missed his exit, documents show. The trooper noted that the teenager had bloodshot watery eyes, was swaying back and forth and allegedly smelled heavily of intoxicants.
The 17-year-old agreed to take a filed sobriety test, documents show. The investigation report alleges that the teenager had vertical nystagmus in his eyes, which is often associated with high doses of alcohol in a person’s system. The trooper allegedly continued to observe that the teenager was swaying back and forth during the sobriety test.
The teenager was placed under arrest at about 11:45 p.m. He asked to speak to a lawyer after he was advised of his Miranda rights, documents show.
The teenager was taken to Tacoma General Hospital to check for injuries. His blood was also drawn as part of the investigation, documents show.
