Docs: Suspect wanted for deadly I-5 hit-and-run had previously killed teen in similar crash
SEATTLE - A 21-year-old has been charged with vehicular homicide for allegedly crashing into two cars and killing two people on I-5 in Seattle before running away from the scene.
On Feb. 26 around 3 a.m., a Chevy rear-ended a Mercedes near the West Seattle Bridge on I-5 southbound, since the roads were wet and slushy from the snow. Both cars ended up in the HOV lane and the left lane of traffic. At that point, neither driver was injured and both put on their hazard lights.
Soon after, 21-year-old Antonio Lopez was speeding on the icy highway and passed a semi truck, according to court documents.
A minute after he passed the semi, he slammed into the back of the Chevy, which then smashed into the Mercedes. The driver of the Mercedes was outside of the vehicle, assessing the front-end damage from initially hitting a barrier. The force of the crash sent his own Mercedes flying at him.
The driver of the Mercedes was "launched" into the road, and suffered a bleeding head injury, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, according to court documents. He had to crawl to the left shoulder to get out of traffic.
The 34-year-old driver of the Chevy and his 38-year-old passenger were both pronounced dead at the scene.
By the time police arrived, Lopez and his front-seat passenger had run off from the crash.
While the driver of the Mercedes was on the phone with his father after the initial fender bender, he said that traffic had no problem driving past their scene and avoiding them.
According to court documents, preliminary reconstruction of the crash indicated that Lopez was going over 70 mph on the wintry roads.
When officers later tracked down his girlfriend, who was in the front seat at the time of the crash, she told them that Lopez did not have a license. She also told detectives that she had not been in contact with him and had no idea where he was after the crash.
A warrant has been issued for Lopez's arrest. He still has not been arrested.
It's unclear when or where Lopez was arrested after the Feb. 26 crash. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment on April 10, but he is not listed in the King County Jail roster, nor is a date noted in court documents for his arrest.
Lopez has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and felony hit-and-run.
According to court documents, Lopez drove off the shoulder of a road in 2017 and hit and killed a teenager. He also ran from that scene, court documents said. Lopez would have been 15 at the time of that crash.