SEATTLE — 25-year-old Aboubacarr Singhateh has been charged with three counts of vehicular assault and one count of vehicular homicide after crashing a pickup truck into the back of a taxi cab in downtown Seattle last week.
According to charging documents released on May 28, Singhateh fully accelerated into the back of the taxi while it was stopped at a red light at the intersection of 4th Avenue South and South Washington Street. Singhateh was speeding at 47mph, far above the posted 25mph limit, and did not attempt to brake before the crash.
The impact from the truck pushed the taxi cab 147 feet through the intersection and up a hill, where the two vehicles came to a stop still attached.
Police say he was driving a heavy-duty pick-up truck despite not being licensed to drive. The registered owner of the Ford pick-up truck was riding in the front passenger seat and suffered significantly less substantial injuries than the passengers in the back of the taxi cab.
All of the occupants of the taxi cab, a yellow 2015 Toyota Prius, were transported to Harborview Medical Center.
Three women in their 70s were sitting in the back of the taxi cab, which sustained a majority of the collision. Charging documents state that one of the women suffered significant trauma to her skull and required emergency life-saving surgery, her prognosis is still unknown.
As confirmed by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, 74-year-old Suzanne Blake, who was also in the backseat, suffered catastrophic injuries and died at the Harborview Medical Center emergency room.
The third woman suffered several broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and a severe facial laceration that required several stitches and staples.
A 77-year-old man was in the front passenger seat of the taxi and suffered internal injuries requiring hospitalization and the possibility of emergency surgical intervention. At the time of the report, the taxi driver appeared to have suffered less substantial injuries.
Several witnesses reported that the truck was emitting smoke as it sped through downtown Seattle. After a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) officer arrived and spoke with Singhateh, he was arrested, and a search warrant for a sample of his blood was granted and executed. According to probable cause documents, the DRE officer suspected he was impaired from drug use, and the blood test results are currently pending with a toxicology lab.
Singhateh is currently being held on $250,000 bond.