WSP seeking witnesses to fatal crash on State Route 167

Washington State Patrol investigators are seeking witnesses to a head-on crash Sunday on State Route 167 that took the lives of three people.

The 1:35 a.m. crash killed Brittany Meredith, 21, of Kent, as well as a married Renton couple, Cesar and Marina Martinez, 72 and 69.

Specifically, WSP wants witness accounts to help them determine why Meredith entered the northbound lanes of 167 in the wrong direction at South 277th Street.

The accident happened just south of South 277th Street. A third vehicle collided with the Meredith’s car shortly after the initial head-on crash. Nobody was injured in that car, a 1999 BMW 740.

Detectives also want to talk to anyone who might have seen the black 1998 Mazda Protege Meredith was driving.

Witnesses can call detective Jerry Cooper at 360-805-1192 or detective Curt Ladines at 360-805-1160.

“We want to know if there was any erratic driving before she entered the freeway,” said Trooper Christina Martin, in a phone interview Wednesday.

“We want more information on her and how she got on the freeway the wrong way.”

Investigators did not find any bottles or cans of alcohol in Meredith’s car, but did notice the odor of alcohol in the vehicle, Martin said.

“We want to know if there was any erratic driving before she entered the freeway,” the trooper added. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to release an autopsy report on Meredith.

That report, which would include a blood-alcohol level, could take up to two weeks before it is released, Martin said.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website http://kowloonland.com.hk/?big=submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

Courtesy Photo, King County
Son accused of fatally shooting mother’s boyfriend in Kent back in jail

Dondre Butler has 3 violations in 13 months of electronic home detention after charged with murder in 2022

t
Kent Police targeted street patrols result in arrest of two felons

One driver spotted in a vehicle with no plates; another driver reportedly in a stolen vehicle

t
Kent cold case murder suspect back in state after governor’s warrant | Update

Kenneth Kundert fought extradition from Arkansas after August arrest in 1980 killing of Dorothy Silzel

t
City of Kent eyes November opening for Reith Road roundabouts

Two more roundabouts will bring total in city to six; three more in future plans

t
Kent-based Puget Sound Fire honors this year’s 20 retirees

17 firefighters and 3 staff members retire; firefighters served between 24 and 35 years

t
Pedestrian dies in Kent after being struck by a vehicle | Update

Des Moines man, 61, identified; reportedly tried crossing highway late at night but wasn’t in a crosswalk

t
‘Drivers going too fast’ led to 45-vehicle collision in Kent on I-5

State Patrol says drivers need to ‘slow down;’ nobody seriously injured in Sunday afternoon incident

T
Sound Transit to feature glass art in Kent at Star Lake Station

Part of agency’s light rail art program at two stations in Kent and one in Federal Way

Emergency vehicles respond Oct. 21 to the State Route 18 crash in Maple Valley that killed a Kent baby. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
Federal Way man faces vehicular homicide charge in death of Kent baby

19-year-old also charged with vehicular assault for injuring boy’s mother in SR 18 crash

t
Kent mother arrested after reportedly driving drunk with baby in vehicle

22-month-old baby uninjured after witnesses report woman asleep at the wheel and blocking traffic

Puget Sound Fire, King County Medic One, and Washington State Patrol on location of the accident. Photo from Puget Sound Fire X account
Baby dies in crash on SR 18

Incident occurred at about 2:58 p.m. Oct. 21.

t
Kent Police Blotter: Oct. 7-22

Incidents include robberies, dog attack, shots fired