‘Not an easy scene for anyone’: Five dead after fiery South Sound crash

SOUTH SOUND, Wash. — A deadly crash in the South Sound, as investigators have had the grim task of figuring out who died in a fiery crash that shut down Highway 512 for hours.

All five died after the vehicle they were in crashed into a concrete pillar in Puyallup’s South Hill.

The crash was so horrific, that troopers say they don’t know anything about those who died. That’s because the vehicle burst into flames before help could arrive.

We talked to a man who says he watched the car speed away and slam right into that concrete pillar, setting a fire that scorched the 31st Street overpass.

“The car burst into flames right away,” said Otis Elmquist, “which I thought was only in the movies.”

But what Elmquist witnessed on Highway 512 early this Sunday morning was all too real: a 2017 Ford Flex SUV like this one speeding past, doing at least 100 miles an hour as he and his parents were heading to the airport.

“I’ve never had a car I’ve been driving in shake when someone drives by from the wind,” he said.

Elmquist says at one point, the SUV was on two wheels.

“They did not roll,” he said. “They straightened it out and hit the overpass dead on.”

That, he says, is when the car burst into flames. They stopped to help but couldn’t see or do much.

Elmquist was asked if he could determine the genders of those involved.

“Ah, nope, no,” he said. “It was dark out. I couldn’t see anything other than half the car was on fire and the driver had the airbag in their face. That’s the only person I saw in there before the flames got too bad.”

Washington State Trooper John Dattilo was asked the same question.

“No genders at this point,” said Dattilo.

He says they are still trying to figure out who was in the vehicle. One person was ejected, and four others, including the driver, died inside. Extricating them was difficult and kept this busy highway shut down.

“Combined with fire having to come and put the car out, we couldn’t approach it until it was cool enough,” said Dattilo. “There’s a lot of factors that played into how long this road was closed.”

Highway 512 fully reopened some nine hours later. All of it makes for a very sad conclusion to this Sunday.

“It’s not an easy scene for anyone,” Dattilo said.

The trooper says it will be left to the Pierce County Medical Examiner to determine who died. Although it is likely those who know and love them have already gotten the terrible news.

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