I-5 Closed During High Speed Chase | Seattle Personal Injury Law Firm

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Being a King County personal injury lawyer and Seattle car accident attorney I have come to realize that you must be prepared for anything on the roads. From drunk driving accidents to high speed chases the roads are anything but predictable. There is not much, however, more shocking than the police chase that left I-5 closed during rush hour.

Wednesday, September 1st, an unusual circumstance caused a complete closure of a stretch of I-5 for nearly 2 hours. Commuters were stuck for hours during rush-hour traffic as a 23-year-old fugitive lead police on a chase through Seattle.

Police followed pursued the suspect along Route 526 where he shot at and struck the patrol car. Police continued to pursue to suspect onto I-5 in Everett where the fleeing man ended up in a Seattle car accident when he rear-ended a van on southbound I-5. The impact knocked the van on its side where it continued to slide. The driver had her window down when the van was flipped on its side and continued to skid for some distance mangling her arm. The driver, 49-year-old, Tammy Fietkau was rushed to Providence Medical Center and then later sent to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries.

After this car accident the suspect spun out of control and smashed into a guard rail- after which he continued to flee from police on foot into some bushes. Police followed to suspect with the aid of police dogs. With the help of tips from the public and the use of the search dogs police were able to apprehend the suspect at the 7100 block of Olympic.

The suspect was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.

The suspect’s car was initially thought to be stolen, but it was discovered that its plates had simply been canceled. The suspect had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Washington.

We hope Tammy Fietkau has a speedy recovery from this accident.

Video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuDumDfVd3o&feature=player_embedded