Deputies said three stolen vehicles fled after one was linked to an earlier Woodinville carjacking.
BELLEVUE, WA — A suspected carjacker fleeing deputies crashed through traffic at a busy Bellevue intersection Sunday afternoon, striking several vehicles before running from the scene and escaping police, authorities said.
The crash near 148th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 24th Street turned a multi-county stolen-vehicle pursuit into a search that drew Bellevue police, Snohomish County deputies and other law enforcement. Officials said the case began after deputies spotted three suspected stolen vehicles, including one linked to an armed carjacking earlier in the day in Woodinville.
The crash happened around 3 p.m. May 10 near the Bellevue-Redmond border, close to a Fred Meyer store and a busy commercial corridor. Dash camera video showed a white pickup truck ramming the back of an SUV driven by John Pillion, who said his four sons were inside as the family headed to a birthday celebration. “The boys were singing karaoke, and then, the car got hit, we got turned, it took a couple seconds to realize what happened,” Pillion said. He said he looked back and saw police behind him, then realized the collision was part of a chase.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy first saw three stolen vehicles around 2:30 p.m. near State Route 9 and Maltby Road. One vehicle was tied to the Woodinville carjacking, and another had just been stolen from Monroe, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies said the suspects fled onto State Route 522. The vehicles were later found in the area of Interstate 405 and State Route 520, where a pursuit began. One vehicle split from the others, exited in Bellevue and crashed. Deputies stopped pursuing the other two vehicles and focused on the Bellevue crash, authorities said.
Video from the Bellevue intersection showed the white pickup wedged among stopped traffic before the driver tried to break free. Pillion said the pickup’s driver spun the tires, hit another car in front of his SUV, pushed that vehicle through the intersection, crossed the roadway and struck another vehicle head-on. The pickup damaged four other vehicles after hitting Pillion’s SUV, including a Mustang across the road, authorities said. Pillion said his SUV could not be driven after the crash. No injuries were reported among the people in the vehicles that were hit, according to police and witnesses.
After the crashes, police said the driver got out of the pickup and ran about a block to a nearby plaza. People at multiple restaurants told local reporters that law enforcement evacuated them as officers searched the area. Police said the suspect was believed to have hidden in bushes near the plaza, but officers did not find the person. Snohomish County deputies helped Bellevue police search the area. Authorities had not released the suspect’s name, age or description by Monday morning, and it was not clear whether investigators had identified the driver.
The sheriff’s office said the two other stolen vehicles were later found after the Bellevue crash. The Washington State Patrol found both vehicles crashed and abandoned, according to authorities. One was found in Bellevue, and the other was found in Pierce County. Officials said it did not appear any of the stolen-vehicle drivers were in custody as of late Sunday. The number of people involved in the three vehicles remained unclear, and authorities did not say whether weapons were recovered from any of the crash scenes.
The case brought together several police agencies because the suspected crimes and chase crossed city and county lines. The first report involved Woodinville, the stolen vehicles were seen in Snohomish County, the main crash happened in Bellevue and one abandoned vehicle was found in Pierce County. Investigators were expected to review dash camera video, witness statements, vehicle records and evidence from the abandoned vehicles as they worked to determine who was driving and whether the same suspects were tied to each stolen vehicle.
Pillion said the moments after the crash were focused on checking his children and the other drivers. “Our immediate thought is, ‘hey, is everybody OK,’ and then just very thankful that it could have been worse and we’re all good,” he said. The video showed traffic stopped in multiple directions as officers moved toward the pickup. Witnesses described a chaotic scene, with damaged cars spread across the intersection and police converging on nearby businesses during the search.
No arrests had been announced by Monday, May 11. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office remained the lead agency on the carjacking and stolen-vehicle investigation, while Bellevue police assisted with the crash scene and search.
Author note: Last updated May 11, 2026.