Kent Police Detectives have determined that an April 22 car vs train fatality collision is a homicide.
An adult male suspect is still in custody.
Police say that on the morning of Wednesday, April 22, 2020 around 3 a.m., they were dispatched to the report of a vehicle versus train collision in the area of S. 212th Street and 77th Ave S. (map below).
A witness told police that a vehicle stopped briefly after striking a train, then fled the scene. Officers located the vehicle a short distance away.
The preliminary investigation showed there were two people inside the vehicle, one of them with what appeared to be life-threatening injuries. Officers started CPR and requested Kent Fire and Medics to the scene.
Unfortunately, lifesaving efforts were not successful.
Kent Police Detectives and Traffic Investigators arrived on scene of the incident and began processing the vehicle. As Detectives conducted their investigation, they observed injuries to the deceased female that were suspicious and inconsistent with the hit and run collision. It has now been confirmed that the female died of trauma not related to the collision and this has turned into a homicide investigation.
The 37-year-old male suspect from Tukwila and the 36-year-old deceased female from Seattle had a past relationship and were familiar with each other. The male suspect was arrested at the time of the collision and placed in custody on a Department of Corrections violation. He is still in custody and a new charge of Murder has been filed with the King County Prosecutors Office.
This investigation is still ongoing as the Detectives continue to process evidence and follow leads to establish the sequence of events that lead to this tragic incident.
