UPDATE: Police release more details on horrific May 24 high-speed collision on Ambaum involving 4 cars

UPDATE MAY 29, 2024: Burien Police/King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) released an update to The B-Town Blog on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, regarding a high-speed collision involving four cars on Ambaum Blvd. SW on Friday, May 24.

As we previously reported, Ambaum Blvd. SW was closed for several hours near SW 144th Street as KCSO Major Accident Response and Reconstruction (MARR) detectives investigated the messy remnants of the horrific collision.

Police said that it all started when a suspect was witnessed – by a Burien Deputy in a fully-marked Burien Police vehicle – driving recklessly in a BMW southbound on Ambaum Blvd. SW.

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Here are more details from KCSO:

• The suspect was aggressively tailgating another driver on the road, swerving left and right at their rear bumper, before swerving into the right lane and passing the vehicle, nearly striking its bumper as he went by. 
• The deputy got behind the suspect BMW, attempting a vehicle traffic stop at about the 13600 block of Ambaum Blvd. SW. The BMW briefly slowed, but then suddenly sped up in an attempt elude the deputy. 
• The deputy did not pursue, but gave updates over the radio, observing aggressive and high-speed driving continued as it sped away. 
• The BMW weaved around slower vehicles, at one point going into the oncoming lane of travel.
• The deputy was able to observe from a distance as the vehicle entered the intersection of SW 144th and Ambaum Blvd SW.
• Witnesses stated that the traffic light was red for southbound traffic, and that the suspect ran the red light in the right-hand bus only lane.
• At the same time, a Honda was turning left with the green light, and a Subaru was turning right.
• The suspect vehicle then struck the Honda and Subaru, causing him to lose control and strike the side of a north-facing Toyota Prius, which was waiting in the left turn lane to go west. 
• The driver of the suspect vehicle was unrestrained in the vehicle and sustained critical head injuries and was transported to Harborview.
• The driver of the Honda sustained minor injuries and was treated at a local hospital. 
• Exigent blood was drawn from the suspect vehicle driver, before being transported for medical treatment.
• Toxicology results are pending.

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