BELLEVUE, Wash. — Bellevue police are launching an international search for a suspect in a vehicular homicide case after she fled the country.
Police say 26-year-old Ting Ye was the driver in a rollover crash off 108 Avenue South and State 520 back in September. Her passenger, 27-year-old Yabao Liu, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bellevue Police say when she was discharged from Harborview Medical Center on Oct. 9, a friend picked her up and drove her to Vancouver where she took a flight to China.
“It’s a very unfortunate situation, obviously. We would’ve preferred to arrest her here,” Officer Seth Tyler with Bellevue Police said.
Bellevue Police say both Ye and Liu are from China. Ye was in the area on a work visa. Officer Tyler says because there is not an extradition treaty between China and the United States, their hands are tied and they will need help from federal partners to take action.
“So that if she ever leaves China, she can expect to be arrested,” Officer Tyler said.
Police say not only was Ye going more than 100 miles an hour, but when firefighters pulled her out of the vehicle, she reeked of alcohol.
“This vehicle was completely out of control on this road for several hundred feet. So, if there had been any other vehicles on this road, it could’ve been even more disastrous,” Officer Tyler said.
Ye has been charged with vehicular homicide by the King County Prosecutor’s Office which requested she be held on a $2 million bail in addition to turning over her passport.
“The evidence doesn’t change. And so, the crime and why we believe we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt doesn’t change when somebody shows up to court or not. But we are certainly not going to forget about this case,” Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecutors Office said.
Police also say because of what has happened in this case, they will take a deeper look into how they handle cases like Ye’s going forward.
“We are absolutely going to be looking at the procedures that took place here,” Officer Tyler said.
Police are now urging her to return and face justice.
“We just want her to know that again we take this very seriously. Someone died here. There’s a family involved and she needs to come back and face justice in this matter,” Officer Tyler said.
Police are working with Ye’s employer on the case.