Yakima police: Two seriously injured drag racing crash

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 YAKIMA, Wash. — Two people were seriously injured early Sunday morning during what police said was a drag race in which a driver lost control of his vehicle.

Traffic was blocked at the intersection of 72nd and Tieton for several hours after the 5 a.m. crash.

Police said a 17-year-old was racing another vehicle south on 72nd Avenue from Summitivew Avenue when he lost control of his vehicle in the area of Tieton Drive. His vehicle left the road, struck a fence, power pole and a parked vehicle before coming to rest against a tree.

Emergency crews found the driver and a 33-year-old passenger unconscious inside the vehicle. Fire department personnel had to extricate the driver from the vehicle

The driver was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries. His passenger was taken to Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center for surgery, but is expected to be transferred to Harborview as well, said Sgt. Shawn Boyle of the Yakima Police Department

The other driver, an 18-year-old, was not injured, he said.

Boyle said it’s believed intoxicants were involved in the crash, but added that police are still investigating.

Boyle said police have sent a report to the prosecutor’s office for possible charges.

Racing is becoming more prevalent with the warmer weather, Boyle said, adding that it’s usually "a younger generation that’s participating in things like that."

This is the first serious injury to result from drag racing so far this year, he said.

Police have not yet released the names of those involved.

— Molly Rosbach