Spanaway man dead from high-speed crash on Pierce County roadway has been identified
A Spanaway man who died from a high-speed crash near South Hill in early March has been identified.
Donald Rasmussen, 30, died from multiple blunt-force injuries on March 4 near the 17100 block of 122nd Avenue East. His manner of death was listed as an accident, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office in a news release.
Rasmussen was driving his gold sedan at a high speed when he passed a school bus and crashed into a white SUV. Pierce County deputies were dispatched at 7:22 a.m. that day for the crash, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office in a Facebook post.
Rasmussen died at the scene. A woman in the SUV was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, but not life-threatening, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Deputy Carly Cappetto previously told The News Tribune.
Cappetto said Monday the woman suffered some broken bones but is expected to be OK.
The bus was not struck and none of the children inside sustained injuries, she said.
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Pepper-balls vs. tear gas: How 2020's Black Lives Matter protest in Spokane compares to the immigration demonstration of 2025
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There were also more serious criminal actions committed by those blocking exits and obstructing ICE vehicles, ultimately preventing federal employees from leaving the building and vehicle in one instance, which is a class C felony, he said. "When you're there blocking doors and windows and exits ... that's a felony," he said. The first orders to disperse came at 7:13 p.m., with the first arrests made around 7:30 p.m. of those surrounding one of the ICE vans with agents inside. At around 8 p.m., law enforcement deployed PepperBalls and smoke canisters that sent stinging smoke and sparks through the streets, prompting protesters to scatter, holding their shirts to their face while coughing and gagging. While still in a preliminary review of law enforcement's reports of the protest, Nowels said his deputies fired at least four rounds of less-lethal munitions at four protesters, including three bean bag canisters and one blue nose foam projectile. Each of these protesters threw recently deployed smoke canisters back to the line of law enforcement, Nowels said. When identified, the four protesters will face felony assault charges, Nowels said. Some Sheriff's deputies on the skirmish line wore bulletproof vests and baseball caps. Others patrolling the scene dressed more tactically in riot gear, carrying firearms and crowd control projectiles with orange tips, as well as other munitions. "Some of the typical things we have would be 40-millimeter blue nose rounds that are foam and potentially bean bag munitions," Nowels said. Nowels said his deputies are trained in de-escalation tactics to verbally subdue the crowd, in his limited review of some video footage, he was pleased to see it put to use by deputies talking with protesters on skirmish lines. "I saw officers and deputies verbally communicate in a very calm way, interacting with the protesters ..." he said. "Our people did everything they could to prevent this from being a violent interaction." Some protesters disagree — including Stuckart, who came prepared to be arrested. He and 15 or so others planted themselves around two federal vans in an attempt to stop the transport. Stuckart said he believes the tension ratcheted up significantly when local law enforcement arrived, and that he hopes they and elected officials are "having a very deep conversation and looking inwardly on how their actions are the ones that escalated the situation." Fellow protester and progressive candidate for City Council Sarah Dixit agreed; she said when law enforcement split the crowd in two, some clad in riot gear, it doesn't inspire calm among the protesters. "It feels difficult to experience de-escalation when folks are fully fitted with rubber bullet guns, I don't know what the correct term is, and fully armed," Dixit said. "Upon seeing that, that doesn't make me feel any safer." Some of the 30 or so arrests were done through conversation between police and protesters, some willingly placing their hands behind their back as police walked them through their arrest. Others were more forceful, pushing protesters to the ground as they resisted officers' handcuffs. "I watched someone get thrown to the ground," Dixit said. "No one was doing any sort of activity that even remotely I could see someone justifying that response." There were several stark differences between this year's demonstration and those from five years ago. The riot of 2020 involved thousands, whereas Wednesday saw hundreds of people. Law enforcement's response also differed; Brown said she had a conversation with Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall "specifically around not using tear gas," she said in an interview Thursday. Spokane Police also didn't use rubber bullets like in 2020, Hall said at a press conference Wednesday night. While each event prompted a mayoral curfew, Brown's was less enforced by Spokane Police. Some protesters remained at the intersection of Washington Street and North River Drive long after the 9:30 p.m. order to vacate, though police made no moves to disperse the crowd with more projectiles or make any arrests of those defying the curfew. On Saturday, Riverfront Park will become the site of a "No Kings" protest planned around the nation in defiance of a military parade on President Donald Trump's 79th birthday and the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary. At that gathering, expected to draw thousands, Nowels and Stuckart both implored disciplined nonviolence. "Please help the police by discouraging anyone trying to break the law," Nowels said. "No matter how frustrated you are, always be non-violent," Stuckart said. Spokesman-Review Reporters Nick Gibson and Emry Dinman contributed to this report. Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
