Auburn man faces charges after single-vehicle, high-speed accident

An 18-year-old Auburn man faces vehicular assault charges for a single-vehicle, high- speed rollover accident on B Street Northwest that seriously injured one of his two passengers in the early evening hours of March 6.

As of Thursday afternoon, Auburn Police had not yet sent the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office the documents it has to have to file formal charges, but a KCPAO spokesman said prosecutors will review the case when they get them.

At the suspect’s first court appearance, a Superior Court judge found probable cause to hold him for vehicular assault. His bail was set at $50,000 per the prosecutor’s request, and he was released on his personal recognizance.

The Auburn Reporter is withholding the suspect’s name because he has not yet been charged with a crime.

Based on what the suspect told Auburn Police after the accident, here is what happened.

Shortly before 7:30 p.m. on March 6, the suspect said, he had been traveling northbound in his 2004 Suzuki on 37th Street Northwest at speeds of up to 105 miles per hour, triple the posted 35 mile per hour limit, but that as he approached the intersection with 15th Street Northwest he reduced his speed to 85 miles per hour.

As the suspect told police, he had assumed the roadway was flat, but as he entered the intersection, he struck a curb and went airborne. When the vehicle landed, he said, he over-steered and lost control. and the car rolled multiple times before it hit a building and caught fire. The suspect pulled his two passengers out before the car was fully wrapped in flames.

Medical personnel intubated and then transported the suspect’s rear -seat passenger to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of serious injuries, although, police say, the severity of those injuries has not yet been determined. The front-right seat passenger was taken to Multicare Auburn Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. .

“He was driving very fast and thought the roadway was flat,” Auburn Police wrote in court documents submitted at the suspect’s first court appearance. “The posted speed limit on the road is 35 miles per hour. He showed total disregard for the safety of his passengers and the public. It’s a no-racing zone, and traveling at almost triple the posted speed limit is reckless in nature.”