Harrowing video has emerged of the moment a woman lost control of her Porsche at around 100 mph and crashed outside Seattle, killing her passenger — only to flee the country days later to her native China.
Ting Ye, 26, was driving a 2020 Porsche 911 on 112th Avenue Northeast toward Highway 520 in Bellevue, Washington, with passenger Yabao Liu, 27, when the horrific crash occurred at about 4 a.m. Sept. 30, the Seattle Times reported.
The white sports car whizzed through several intersections before it struck a cement barricade and went airborne, according to the footage taken on traffic cameras and obtained by KING 5.
The vehicle landed upside down, killing Liu, also a Chinese national, according to charging documents cited by the outlet.
First responders were not called to the scene until about 45 minutes later when someone noticed the mangled vehicle and contacted 911, WPDE reported.
When they arrived and extricated the two occupants, they discovered that Liu was dead and noticed a “strong odor of alcohol” coming from Ye, the documents reportedly state.
Due to the severity of the crash, it took time for police to determine who had been driving, the outlet reported. Ye then invoked her right not to speak with investigators.
An investigator could not meet the medical personnel who responded to the scene until a week later, according to the outlet.
Ye was released from the hospital on Oct. 6 and then crossed the border into Vancouver, Canada, three days later with the help of an acquaintance and took a flight to China, officials said.
Around the same time, a warrant was entered into the system by the King County Attorney’s Office charging her with vehicular manslaughter.
In those documents, prosecutors requested that she be held on $2 million bail. They also asked that she be ordered to turn in her passport and not leave Washington state without permission from the court, the Seattle Times reported.
“At that point, she was not free to leave, but she had already left,” Bellevue police spokesperson Officer Seth Tyler told the paper.
On Oct. 23, a judge issued a bench warrant for Ye’s arrest when she did not appear for her arraignment.
If she enters the US again, the warrant would be flagged, Tyler said, adding that police would be applying for an Interpol Red Notice, which flags any travel to a country with which the US has an extradition treaty.
The case has become a political issue since it was turned over to the US Department of Justice, KING 5 reported.
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, also the former US ambassador to China, pointed out the lack of an extradition treaty between the two countries.
“The story is not over. Yes, she was able to elude the arrest warrant, but if she were to ever travel to another country, let’s say to Europe on business or pleasure to an area, to a country that does have an extradition treaty with the United States, she’ll be flagged when she enters that country by Interpol and subject to extradition back to the United States if the United States government so desires,” Locke told KING 5.
Bellevue police said they are collaborating with federal agencies and international law enforcement partners to apprehend Ye.
Tyler said the agency will review its policies to determine if the procedure should be changed.
“Our plea to [Ye] is that she return and realize that there’s a grieving family involved here,” he told the Seattle Times. “They really need closure on this. … She can bring this matter to a close by returning to the United States.”
