Suspected DUI driver from Spokane allegedly ran light in Fircrest, caused fatal wreck

TACOMA – A 50-year-old Spokane man is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol when he allegedly ran a red light Monday in Fircrest and collided with another car, killing its driver.

Anthony Lamar Allen has been charged with DUI vehicular homicide for the wreck. Pierce County Superior Court records show a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf at arraignment Tuesday afternoon. Allen remains in custody at the county jail on $750,000 bail.

The person killed in the wreck was a 19-year-old man from Fircrest, according to the Fircrest Police Department. He has not been publicly identified. Chief Ron Schaub said Wednesday that a younger sibling who was in the car with the victim was injured. A person in Allen’s vehicle was also transported to an area hospital to be treated for injuries.

A defense attorney for Allen was not listed in court records Wednesday. He was on community custody at the time of the incident, according to a pretrial services report, under the supervision of the Spokane Gang Unit through the Department of Corrections. The report listed 20 prior criminal convictions for Allen from 1992 to 2007.

Charging documents allege that Allen was driving north on Alameda Avenue in a gray Dodge Charger with one passenger when he ran the light at Emerson Street and struck a black Honda Civic going west, which then crashed into a pole.

A witness reportedly told police the Charger was traveling at “an extremely high rate of speed” before the collision.

Fircrest Police Department officers responded at about 6:18 p.m., according to court documents. Tacoma Fire Department personnel were tending to a male lying on the ground when officers arrived.

The driver of the Honda was pronounced dead at the scene.

Allen initially said the woman who was with him had been driving, but Fircrest officers noted that the driver’s seat was adjusted to fit a taller person such as Allen, according to court documents, and he was the registered owner of the vehicle.

Officers reported that Allen told them he looked up and saw the light had turned red. He allegedly mentioned trying to light a cigarette while going through the light, but officers reported that he continued to insist that the woman had been driving.

The woman allegedly told officers she and Allen had driven from the Spokane area to visit Allen’s family.

She reportedly said she had been sleeping in the back seat before the collision and said the light was yellow when they went through it.

Officers reported that while asking the woman if she had been drinking, Allen allegedly said he had been drinking. According to charging papers, the woman later told police she believed Allen was drinking because she smelled alcohol on him. Officers also found a smashed beer bottle near the vehicle.

Allen’s blood was drawn for toxicology testing.