KENNEWICK, Wash. – A woman was found dead after a car crashed into a Benton County Sheriff’s Department car following a drive-by shooting earlier this morning.
According to a release by the Kennewick Police Department, at 4:19 a.m., a KPD officer parked in the 100 block of N. Edison St. was shot at by a dark-colored car driving southbound on Edison.
Officials say that the gunshot did not hit the officer.
KPD officers began searching the area with the help of Benton County Sheriff’s deputies, who saw a car matching the description of the suspect’s car driving down S. Union St and Creekstone Dr.
Officials said that after they attempted to stop the car, it drove away, leading to a chase.
The suspect stopped after hitting a BCSO car at the 8th Pl. and Vancouver St. intersection, where the 35-year-old driver was taken into custody.
According to KPD, the woman in the passenger seat was not responding and was declared dead, while the driver was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
KPD said that the identities of the driver and passenger would be released as soon as the next of kin is notified, and the driver will be booked into Benton County Jail once he is released from the hospital.
The crash is currently under investigation by the Washington State Patrol, while KPD is in charge of the criminal investigation.
Our photojournalist on the ground, Kelly Wiebe, tells us that the intersection of 7th Pl. and Vancouver St. is currently blocked off while the investigation continues.
