TACOMA, Washington — A hit-and-run collision sent a car over an embankment in Tacoma and left it sitting precariously above a southbound Interstate 5 offramp.
The Tacoma Fire Department said the wreck happened just after 5 p.m. Monday on East D Street near the Tacoma Dome. Police told KIRO 7's Kevin McCarty they were looking for the vehicle in the hit-and-run.
Tacoma police said a couple in a car was approaching the D Street bridge over I-5 when a Ford Thunderbird ran a red light, slammed into the couples' car, shoved it through a fence and straight down a steep embankment over I-5.
“And I heard this horrible sound, a lot like a bomb! And I looked down because I was on my deck and I saw the car flying over and going down the embankment,” said witness Karen Barker.
The couple got out of the car that was hit and the woman was taken to a local hospital. Her injuries were said to be non-life-threatening.
Several witnesses said they saw the driver of the car that caused the wreck flee on foot toward the downtown area, KIRO 7's Gary Horcher said.
The Washington State Patrol blocked off one lane of I-5 southbound, and fire crews worked on stabilizing the car so it wouldn’t slide down the embankment further.
Tacoma police have not released the name of the driver suspected in the hit-and-run, but the man is a convicted felon who has been arrested numerous times for drunken and reckless driving.
Police said he could be suffering from severe internal injuries.
“I don’t know how someone could hit someone like that and leave the scene. I just don’t understand it,” said Barker.
KIRO
