TACOMA, Wash. — A police pursuit of suspected armed carjackers ended on Interstate 5 south of the 56th Street exit in Tacoma on Monday afternoon when the vehicle crashed and caught fire.
Two Pierce County Sheriff's deputy patrol vehicles also caught fire.
All lanes of southbound I-5 at South 72nd Street were initially closed, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) tweeted at 1:59 p.m. At least two northbound lanes were also temporarily blocked.
All lanes were clear around 2:30 p.m.
Two people are in custody, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Both suspects were taken to the hospital for medical evaluation due to the crash.
The pursuit began when a woman reported that her car was stolen at gunpoint inside Orangegate Park at 11:25 a.m.
The victim had an Air Tag tracking device on her vehicle and kept deputies updated on the vehicle's location.
Deputies tracked the vehicle to a Federal Way shopping complex. When they attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver sped off, hitting stop sticks placed by deputies, according to information from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
The pursuit went from Federal Way to Fife and then onto southbound I-5.
A deputy performed a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle in Tacoma. The stolen vehicle, which lost a tire, crashed onto the shoulder.
The driver fled but was taken into custody.
The stolen vehicle caught fire with a female passenger still inside. She was removed before the car became fully engulfed in flames.
The fire ignited the dry grass and spread to two nearby patrol vehicles. Deputies extinguished one of the fires but had to wait for fire crews to put out the other.
Neither deputy was injured.
A firearm was found in the burned grass near the stolen vehicle.
The driver was positively identified by the victim and will be booked into jail after being cleared from the hospital.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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