BOTHELL, Wash. — A 16-year-old driver was killed early Saturday morning in a single-vehicle crash in unincorporated Bothell, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies and Collision Investigation Unit (CIU) detectives responded to the crash in the 24200 block of Locust Way, near 18th Pl W, around 1:59 a.m.
Upon arrival, they found the 16-year-old driver dead at the scene.
“It was just a loud crash,” said Dave Wedin, who lives nearby. “It looked like it probably rolled a couple times and flipped.”
Two passengers in the vehicle were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for evaluation.
The investigation revealed the vehicle was traveling northbound from the King County line on what becomes Locust Way in Snohomish County.
Deputies say the driver failed to navigate a sweeping right-hand turn, drifted off the west side of the road, and struck a chain-link fence.
A Lake Forest Park Police Commander told KIRO 7 that a sergeant had seen the driver speeding and driving recklessly just before the crash. The sergeant pulled up near him with police lights, but no siren, and the teen slowed down initially before taking off.
The commander told KIRO 7 the sergeant decided not to pursue the teen because it would have been too dangerous.
CIU detectives are continuing their investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner will identify the teen and determine the cause and manner of death.
Wedin said it’s not the first crash he’s seen on that curve.
“This is probably the fourth or fifth since we’ve lived here,” he said. “And we’ve been here for 19 years or something.”
State data shows several crashes in the same spot over the past ten years, including one crash with possible injuries in 2019.
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