FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A Tacoma woman is searching for the driver who crashed into her car and sent her spinning on I-5.
The crash happened around 8 p.m. Friday.
Stephanie Killpatrick was driving home from work in the center lane of I-5 southbound near Wild Waves Theme & Water Park when a semi-truck hit her.
"I just closed my eyes, gripped the steering wheel and held on for dear life,” she said. "It was very terrifying."
Killpatrick said the truck hit the left rear side of her car, which sent her spinning.
"By the third spin, I knew I needed to hit something, otherwise my car was going to roll and then I finally hit the guardrail head-on,” she said.
The airbags exploded, bruising Killpatrick’s arms and abdomen and giving her a black eye.
"I was just in shock and my face felt like it was on fire from the airbag,” she said.
Killpatrick was even more shocked when she realized the driver never stopped.
"How could you not make sure I'm OK? I'm a mom, I have kids to come home to, they need me. What if I was dead? It's just terrifying,” she said.
Although Killpatrick didn't see what hit her, witnesses described the vehicle as a green Freightliner without a trailer.
The crash ripped off the front bumper of Killpatrick’s car and totaled her brand-new Acura ILX, which took her two years to save up for.
“I just can't believe whoever hit me took off like that. No regard for my life, to make sure I was OK,” Killpatrick said.
A witness followed the semi-truck after the crash, but lost it near Fife.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Washington State Patrol.
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