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4 passengers killed in fiery crash were children
According to WSP, a 29-year-old woman from Sumner was behind the wheel at the time of the crash. Two of the girls in the car were 11 years old, and the ages of the others have not been released. One child was ejected at the time of the crash.
PUYALLUP, Wash. - Washington State Patrol (WSP) announced in an update that four children were among the five people killed in a fiery car crash in Puyallup over the weekend.
According to WSP, a 29-year-old woman from Sumner was behind the wheel at the time of the crash. Two of the girls in the car were 11 years old, and the ages of the others have not been released. One child was ejected at the time of the crash.
The crash occurred just before 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 14 off SR-512 near South Hill Mall. WSP said the 2017 silver Ford Flex SUV was traveling eastbound when it went off the road. It crashed into a pillar and caught fire.
"This is a tough one," said Chris Loftis, director of communications for WSP. "They're all tough and any loss is traumatic and real for those involved, but especially when you have children, it adds to that. It's a tragedy on top of a tragedy."
Shortly after the crash, people sent several videos to WSP from the driver's social media.
The first video was posted at about 12:30 a.m. The last video went up at 1:25 a.m., around three hours before the crash.
The videos show the driver in a kitchen with another woman, drinking something out of a shot glass. It also shows her with several children, though WSP has not confirmed if the kids in the video were the ones killed in the crash.
WSP is looking at these videos as possible evidence to help piece together what happened before the deadly crash.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 5 people killed in fiery Pierce County car crash
Five people were killed in a one-car crash early Sunday morning on SR 512 near South Hill Mall in Puyallup. Troopers say one person was ejected, and the car caught fire after crashing.
"The reality is, no matter what the reason or the situation, this is a tragedy," Loftis said. "You've got five folks who were with us a couple days ago who just aren't with us anymore."
WSP told FOX 13 that they don't believe weather was a factor because the roads were bare and dry at the time of the crash.
"The bottom line is: most of the fatalities we deal with across the state are either road conditions or impairment, distraction, speed," Loftis said.
WSP is still waiting on the toxicology report from the Pierce County Medical Examiner's office to find out if the woman was under the influence of a substance at the time of the crash.
"We have a lot of information come in," Loftis said. "I don't think it will take that long to put it all together."
WSP is asking anyone who witnessed this crash to contact their detectives to provide them with any details that could help them with this investigation. If you have information about the crash, you can contact Detective Evan Clark at (360) 688-3408 or via email at evan.clark@wsp.wa.gov. You can also contact Detective Sergeant Jason Kraus at (360) 870-4598 or by email at jason.kraus@wsp.wa.gov.
FOX 13 reached out to the families of some of the victims and as of Monday morning, they said they are not interested in making a comment at this time.