News brief: Two dead following police chase down I-5 in Thurston County

Update 2:25 p.m.: The Olympian and The (Tacoma) News Tribune are reporting a child has been found dead inside a Spanaway-area home connected with this couple.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A high-speed pursuit ended on southbound Interstate 5 in Tumwater this morning with the driver shooting himself in the head and a dead female passenger who didn’t appear to have died from the low-speed crash or any gunshot, according to the Washington State Patrol.

It’s possible the 38-year-old man was traveling with a deceased woman in his car, according to Trooper Guy Gill. But the investigation is still in its preliminary stages, according to Gill.

“There are a lot of what ifs here, and it will take time to look at the big picture,” he said.

Both the 38-year-old male and the 38-year-old female were pronounced dead at the scene, near milepost 101 and Tumwater Boulevard, according to the state patrol.

Their identities have not been released and investigators are not certain yet where they are from. The pair were inside a silver Ford Focus.

It began just before 6 a.m. near the Thurston-Pierce county line when a trooper was passed by a speeding car, traveling about 85 mph, according to the state patrol. The chase continued south, even after spike strips near milepost 109 flattened two of the tires, Trooper Gill reported.

The car slowed to about 30 mph and then it collided with an inside concrete barrier near milepost 101, he said.

The trooper saw the male driver raise his hand by his head, heard a gunshot and saw the driver slump down.

Troopers then found the woman in the front passenger seat.

Gill said he expected to share more details as they are learned.

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