Teenagers who died after crashing stolen car on Pacific Avenue in Tacoma are identified

Peter Talbot
·1 min read

Two teenage boys who died earlier this month when the driver of the stolen car they were in crashed in a fiery, high-speed wreck in Tacoma were identified Friday by the Pierce County medical examiner.

Jesse Webb, 17 and Christopher Garcia Estevez, 16, died of combined blunt force and thermal injuries Jan. 18, according to a news release from the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. Webb was from Lynnwood, according to the release. Estevez’s city of residence was listed as unknown.

Police said the driver of the car they were in, a Kia Optima, ran a red light at Pacific and South 38th Street at about 4:17 a.m. and struck a Kia Forte going north. The Optima spun, came to a stop on a utility pole at least 100 feet away and erupted into flames.

It’s unclear who was driving the car that caused the wreck. Police said the driver was traveling at a high speed. Tacoma Police Department spokesperson Wendy Haddow said Monday that the car’s owner reported it stolen from King County. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

A two-car collision Jan. 18 in Tacoma on Pacific Avenue killed two people and injured a 15-year-old boy after one vehicle went through a green light at Pacific and South 38th Street and was hit by an eastbound car.
A two-car collision Jan. 18 in Tacoma on Pacific Avenue killed two people and injured a 15-year-old boy after one vehicle went through a green light at Pacific and South 38th Street and was hit by an eastbound car.

Both Webb and Estevez were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the driver of the car that was struck, a 50-year-old man, went to a hospital to be treated for a broken foot. Haddow said the man had been on his way to work.

The early-morning crash shut down the intersection for hours. Police said a third person in the boys’ car was pulled from the wreckage by a passerby. The boy, 15, survived with serious injuries.