An 18-year-old is dead and a 17-year-old is accused of DUI following a deadly crash late Thursday night in Lakewood
Washington State Troopers say the teen was driving the wrong way direction, down Interstate 5, near JBLM, resulting in a crash that killed 18-year-old Mia Tanner Lockard.
“You know, showing up to the scene, it was hard. It was one of those you’re going to remember for the rest of your life,” recounted Washington State Patrol Trooper John Datillo.
Just before midnight Thursday, the suspect (who was driving a pickup truck), crashed head-on with a small coupe. Troopers say he was given a field sobriety test at the scene and then placed under arrest on suspicion of DUI.
“No matter what, when there’s a juvenile involved in any sort of incident that we respond to, it makes it more difficult. You know, we don’t want to see young people getting involved in these types of situations. Especially, when they’re the perpetrator,” Datillo acknowledged.
“You know, our hearts go out to everyone involved at the scene,” the State Trooper continued. “It wasn’t easy for anyone. From the first responders, and especially for the families of both involved parties.”
Trooper Datillo says that other witnesses reported seeing the victim try and swerve out of the way to avoid the crash, but was unsuccessful. The crash resulted in major delays, shutting down the interstate for nearly five-and-a-half hours.
All of which leads Datillo to impart a simple message for anyone who wants to get behind the wheel drunk or high.
“Like we say, time and time again, please drive sober,” he urges. “No matter what the BAC level is here in the state of Washington, driving sober is always the best practice.”
Meanwhile, there’s a legislative push to strengthen several laws regarding intoxication on our roadways for all drivers.
That includes “Senate Bill 5067,” which would reduce the BAC limit from .08% to .05%. A proposal that Senator John Lovick tried to get passed last year and is supporting once again.
“I believe in my heart of hearts, if we bring this bill to the floor of the Washington State Senate, we’re probably going to have between 30-35 members who vote ‘yes’. And, we only need 25. So, I feel very, very good about it,” says the Senator.
Besides lowering the BAC limit, there’s also “House Bill 1228,” an effort to reconfigure the current protocols for toxicology reports. It would allow private labs to carry out blood sample testing after a DUI incident, which would help address a backlog especially in instances of drug use.
Washington State Patrol tells KIRO 7 the turnaround times for a toxicology report take the better part of a year for alcohol-related offenses. That wait jumps to nearly two years if alcohol and drugs are involved. A timetable that’s a major issue for Seattle City Attorney, Ann Davison.
“That means that if I get a DUI referral today from Seattle Police, I’m likely not getting those toxicology reports until sometime in 2026,” notes Davison.
“To me, that’s telling the wrong message to those who think it’s the right choice to drive impaired on our roadways. We need to change that message so people clearly know there are going to be accountability measures there to keep our roadways safer.”
Both Lovick and Davison are optimistic about these proposals getting passed. But, as Trooper Datillo reminded us: drunk and intoxicated drivers are nothing new to Western Washington.
A reminder to stay safe on the roads and to find an alternative, when impaired.
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