A 48-year-old woman was killed early Saturday morning when the car she was in sped off a rural road in east Roy, hitting a fence and two trees.
The driver, a 43-year-old woman, was likely intoxicated, according to police. She was carried to a nearby hospital and arrested on suspicion of DUI and vehicular homicide.
Her passenger, who was not wearing a seatbelt per the report, was discovered outside of the vehicle and declared deceased at the site of the accident near 1200 304th St. E in Roy, about 2.5 miles east of Route 7.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department, with South Pierce and Graham fire crews, responded to witness calls of a single-car collision at 12:19 a.m. on Nov. 26.
Deputies believe speed and intoxication was a factor, said spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss.
The car was headed westbound on 304th when it went off the road, colliding with a white fence and then trees. Seen in photographs provided by the Sheriff's Department, the car was totaled when it landed in a ditch on the north side of the road.
Moss said emergency personnel cut the door off to remove the 43-year-old from the driver's seat. They could smell alcohol in the vehicle, said Moss, and obtained a warrant to determine her blood alcohol content later at the hospital.
Traffic fatalities in unincorporated Pierce County have nearly doubled since 2020 compared to prior years. There have been 24 so far this year, said Moss, coming off an "extremely high" tally of 33 in 2021.
In 2020 and 2019, there were 19 and 17 fatal car accidents, respectively. From 2015-18, the number hovered between 10 and 15.
The driver in the Roy collision will be booked into the Pierce County Jail upon release from the hospital.
