11 hours ago
Reckless driver launches Mini Cooper off ferry dock into Puget Sound during high-speed police chase, killing 2 passengers
A wild high-speed police chase ended in tragedy when a reckless driver launched his Mini Cooper off a ferry dock into a Washington waterway this week — killing two passengers as the car sank, according to reports.
Harrowing police bodycam footage obtained by KOMO News captured officers frantically trying to save the 29-year-old driver and his four passengers as the car submerged in Puget Sound after flying off a dock at Edmonds Ferry Terminal at more than 100 mph late Tuesday night.
Screams of panic echoed from the vehicle as cops tossed life vests and flotation devices into the frigid water, instructing the victims on how to use them, the chilling footage showed.
4 First responders frantically try to rescue passengers from the car submerged in the Puget Sound.
Edmonds Police Department
Four people, including the erratic driver suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, were rescued and taken to a nearby hospital, while two others died in the car, the outlet reported.
It remains unclear if the victims — a 45-year-old Lakewood woman and a 48-year-old Auburn woman — drowned.
4 Bodycam footage of first responders rushing to save people from a car that drove into Puget Sound.
Edmonds Police Department
The horrific ordeal began around 11 p.m. when a Washington State Patrol trooper tried to stop the speeding Mini on Interstate 5 in Edmonds, sparking a brief pursuit, the outlet reported.
A Snohomish County Sheriff's deputy launched another chase after spotting the same car dangerously weaving through traffic at speeds of up to 120 mph before exiting the highway and plowing through a gate at the ferry terminal.
'They went around the cones and went through the gate up there at the head of the dock and off,' Randal Viernes, a Washington State Ferries employee, told the outlet.
'Sounded like he launched it. He did not slow down at all.'
4 Screams of panic echoed from the car as cops tossed life vests and flotation devices into the frigid water.
Edmonds Police Department
4 Aerial view of a car that drove off a ferry dock into the water.
KOMO News
Ferry service was temporarily suspended following the crash, with recovery crews hauling the Mini Cooper from 40 feet of water around 3:30 a.m., according to KING 5.
The careless Tulalip motorist — whose identity hasn't been revealed — was taken into custody, though no charges have been filed.
'It is super tragic,' Edmonds resident Pam Blanchard told the outlet.
'Thank heavens another ferry wasn't docked there because if people were coming to get off of the ferry more people would have been involved. Honestly, it is really lucky that nobody else was involved.'
