Suspect arrested after two killed during getaway attempt

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A 30-year-old Moxee man was arrested Sunday night for a car theft that led to a high-speed police chase, two burglaries and four vehicle accidents, including one that killed two people.

In the last of the four collisions, two people inside a Dodge Neon died when the suspect’s stolen vehicle ran a red light at 16th and Englewood avenues and slammed into the driver’s side of the car going north on 16th Avenue,  according to a news release from the Yakima Police Department.  

A red Jeep Wrangler going north on 16th Avenue also was hit.

Both individuals in the Neon, a 29-year-old Tieton man and a 41-year-old Yakima woman, were killed. The driver of the Wrangler, a 21-year-old Yakima man, was sent to a local hospital for treatment for nonlife-threatening injuries.

The news release did not reveal the names of any of the victims.

It all started just before 1 p.m. Sunday, when police were dispatched to a car lot that reported a stolen red pickup.

Around 2:30 p.m., a Yakima police officer spotted a vehicle matching the description of the stolen truck on the corner of Sixth and Spruce streets. The suspect drove off as the officer tried to identify whether the truck was the one reported stolen.  

The suspect drove west on Pacific Avenue until it ran a stop sign and collided with a white SUV at the corner of Third Street and Pacific Avenue, according to the release. The 39-year-old Yakima woman driving the white SUV was sent to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries.

After the collision, police said, the suspect and a male passenger got out of the truck and tried to flee. The driver entered a nearby used car lot, while the passenger was taken into custody after a short foot chase.

Once the suspect was in the car lot, he broke into a building at the lot and drove off in a light blue pickup. He broke one of the gates at the lot and attempted to hit an officer standing outside the gate, police said.

Police pursued the suspect as he drove the second stolen truck south on Second Street, west on Nob Hill Boulevard, south on Third Avenue and then west on Washington Avenue. Speeds reached up to 70 mph, according to police reports during the chase.  

Police said that while the suspect was driving on Washington Avenue, he sideswiped a vehicle. None of the four people in the car was injured.

The suspect then headed north on 40th Avenue. After making the turn, he stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road. Police said an officer stopped his patrol car behind the suspect and exited the vehicle before the suspect drove in reverse and slammed into the front of the patrol car. The officer, who jumped to the side, avoided injury.

The suspect resumed driving north on 40th Avenue, causing a third accident at Tieton Drive when he struck the front of a vehicle driven by a 38-year-old Yakima woman. None of the victims in that car, including three children, was injured.

The suspect continued to drive north on 40th Avenue before turning right on Englewood Avenue and causing the fatal crash at the intersection with 16th Avenue, police said.

After the final collision, police said the suspect exited the truck and ran south on 16th Avenue. The suspect was taken into custody after police said he broke into a house on the 500 block of North 16th Avenue.

The suspect was treated for injuries at a local hospital before being booked at Yakima County Jail.

Several blocks of 16th Avenue were closed as police investigated the scene of the fatal crash.

Yakima police are seeking to charge the suspect for attempted murder for striking at Yakima police officers, vehicular homicide for the deaths of two victims the final collision, hit-and-run for all four accidents, burglary, auto theft for the two stolen vehicles, eluding and possession of a controlled substance.  


• Mai Hoang can be reached at 509-577-7685 or mhoang@yakimaherald.com.