BURIEN, Wash. — A suspect was arrested Monday morning in connection to a crash that killed a man and injured a child in Burien.
The suspect is accused of crashing into the man and child's car while driving a stolen truck and evading police on Sunday.
Authorities said the suspect waived his right to appear in court on Tuesday. His next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Prosecutors could file serious criminal charges this week, including vehicular homicide. His bail was listed at $500,000.
We are not naming the suspect because he has not been officially charged.
"This affects more than just the family of the victims, it affects the whole community," said Eric White, King County Sheriff's Office sergeant.
The King County Sheriff's Office tracked the suspect along Interstate 5 in Tumwater on Monday just before 5 a.m. He was driving a white Toyota Corolla.
A Lewis County trooper found the sedan at the Maytown rest area off southbound I-5, and the suspect was sleeping inside, according to the sheriff's office.
Law enforcement said the suspect was taken into custody without incident. The rest area was briefly closed during the arrest.
White said he is relieved the search for the suspect accused of running away after causing a deadly hit-and-run crash on Sunday in Burien is over.
"I'm glad that he was able to be captured and now that he has been that our prosecutors can now take over," White said.
Investigators said the suspect was in a stolen pickup and sped away at a high rate of speed after seeing law enforcement vehicles.
The pickup collided with a jeep, killing a man and seriously injuring a 5-year-old boy who was ejected out of the jeep. The boy remains hospitalized in serious condition.
The suspect was booked into King County Jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
King County Sheriff's Office Deputy Mike Mellis said the incident began Sunday when deputies spotted a stolen Ram 1500 pick-up truck at 11:30 a.m. in the Sunset Park area. Mellis said the suspect noticed police following him and took off at a high speed.
Deputies did not initiate a pursuit but followed the direction the suspect fled.
A witness called 911 to report the crash minutes later. Deputies found a crash involving the stolen truck and a Jeep in the 2200 block of 128th Street in Burien.
Mellis said the suspect fled the scene of the crash on foot. Deputies searched for him for hours on Sunday.
The man driving the Jeep was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The child was significantly injured and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The speed limit in the residential neighborhood is just 25 miles per hour, but the wreckage indicates that high speeds played a part in the crash.