SEATTLE — The wrong-way driver who caused a collision that killed three people narrowly missed a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper not long before the crash, dash camera footage shows.
Ari N. Quiroz-Jimenez, 30, was driving westbound on Interstate 90 in the eastbound lanes when he was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle near Island Crest Way on Mercer Island just after midnight on Oct. 30. Both the driver and the passenger of the vehicle that was hit died at the scene, as well as Quiroz-Jimenez.
The WSP trooper was traveling eastbound on I-90 when the vehicle drove past him at a high rate of speed in the HOV lane. The WSP trooper is seen moving his vehicle over a lane after seeing the lights of the wrong-way driver approaching.
The trooper looped back and arrived at the crash scene to find flames visible from one of the vehicles. After the flames were managed, troopers and fire department personnel attempted to check for vital signs from the occupants of both vehicles, but all three were pronounced dead at the scene.
WSP determined that the wrong-way vehicle "most likely" entered the eastbound lanes traveling westbound from the 142nd Street HOV ramp in Bellevue before driving past the trooper and eventually causing the deadly collision.
The driver of the vehicle that was hit was Austin C. Tsai, 22, from Bellevue. His passenger was Bugeon Kim, 23, from Berkeley, California.
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington.