FREDERICKSON, Wash. — Two drivers were killed in a fiery two-car collision at a Frederickson intersection overnight.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) said the collision occurred around midnight Wednesday morning at the intersection of Canyon Road East and 160th Street.
When deputies arrived, they found both vehicles fully engulfed in flames. After the fires were extinguished, the drivers of both of the involved vehicles were found dead.
"Once I saw him speeding, something bad is going to happen, I already knew," said Serina Lara-Schumsky, who witnessed the crash.
PCSD said investigators found one vehicle was making a left turn to go south on Canyon Road East while the causing vehicle was driving "at a high rate of speed" going north. The causing vehicle ran a red light and struck the other vehicle, causing both cars to go up in flames.
"There was nothing that we could do, the flames started bursting, we were afraid of our lives, too," Lara-Schumsky said.
Witnesses told PCSD they saw the causing vehicle trying to race other cars farther south on Canyon Road and one caller told deputies the vehicle was driving as fast as 130 mph.
No identifying information was made available for either of the deceased drivers.
"Just look what happened now. Somebody innocent died and the other person died just because they wanted to go that fast," said Melissa Dean, who works at Canyon Road Gas and Deli. "Save that for the racetracks or something, you know. Not on this public road."
Sgt. Darren Moss of PCSD says, "when you're going 40, 50, 60 miles per hour over the speed limit, you're basically a speeding bullet at that point."
This is the third fatal crash on Canyon Road this year, Moss said.
"I've seen several other collisions on Canyon Road, further up the way near Pioneer Road where we've had people dying," he added.
Moss said speeding is the leading factor in fatal crashes in Pierce County this year and in 2023.
Similar to other law enforcement agencies in Washington, PCSD says it is short on staff. As of August, there's 315 deputies on staff, which is about 40 fewer deputies than the department hopes to have.
"With the amount of staffing that we have, as much as people want us sitting on Canyon Road 24 hours a day," Moss said. "There are serious dangerous violent calls that we also have to go to. We do try to patrol the entire county as much as we can."
The fatal crash is sending a clear message to those who live and work nearby.
"Slow down please," Melissa Dean said. "Peoples' lives are out here at stake."