By Alex Halverson
The Seattle Times
TACOMA — Tacoma police believe a second vehicle hit a Washington State Patrol trooper who died Friday night on Highway 509.
Officials said Saturday that Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting, 29, was struck and killed in Tacoma while she was investigating a two-vehicle collision on southbound Highway 509 near milepost 2.
Tacoma police, who were overseeing the investigation, reported the driver who initially hit her stayed at the scene and has been in contact with law enforcement. No arrests were made.
On Sunday, police said they were searching for a second vehicle that hit Guting between 7:20 and 7:30 p.m., after she was thrown into a lane of traffic. The second vehicle didn’t stop. Police described it as a dark, possibly black, four-door pickup that’s either a Chevrolet Avalanche or a Cadillac Escalade EXT.
No license plate information was available, but police are urging anyone who witnessed the collision or who has seen the vehicle of interest to contact 1-800-222-TIPS. Police are also seeking dashcam footage.
Guting, who joined the State Patrol in 2024, is the 34th trooper lost in the line of duty. Twenty-five were killed by crashes.
The fatal crash was one of five incidents in the past week in which troopers were struck by other vehicles.
Gov. Bob Ferguson in a social media post on Sunday urged people to be cautious, slow down, and move over “if they see flashing lights. Trooper Rick Johnson told The Seattle Times that risks are especially high at roadside accidents, and other motorists need to “slow down” and “don’t be distracted when driving by crash scenes.
One trooper was struck by a vehicle and injured Sunday morning on Highway 512. Another trooper was injured Friday on Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, according to State Patrol.
Two troopers were injured Thursday in separate incidents. One of them had their vehicle struck from behind on Interstate 90 near milepost 75, according to a State Patrol social media post. The other trooper injured Thursday was trapped in his car in a collision near 112th Street South and Steele Street South in Tacoma after a woman crossed over the center lane while texting, according to a Pierce County sheriff’s office social media post.
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