Mother, daughter follow 'recklessly driven vehicle'; journey ends in Bothell rear-end accident

No injuries, woman arrested on investigation of DUI

What started out as a drive to the Plateau turned into a jaunt around Bothell following a speeding, swerving motorist.

Kenmore residents Sue and Kimi Toyoda were just entering Interstate 405 south off State Route 522 in Bothell at around 4:30 p.m. Dec. 17 when they spotted a woman "driving very, very erratic," Sue said. "It was crazy, I just said, 'I'm gonna follow her," she added and trailed behind in her van.

Added daughter Kimi, who works in downtown Bothell: "At first, it was regular and then she jetted from out of nowhere and just took out a sign."

They followed the driver, who exited at Northeast 160th Street/Juanita-Woodinville Way Northeast. She then turned right onto 112th Avenue Northeast, on down for a left onto East Riverside Drive and up and around to Northeast 183rd Street and Bothell Way Northeast — where the journey ended when the leading car rear-ended another vehicle at the traffic light.

They passed the downtown Bothell Police Department along the way.

"We called 911 (for the second time) and said, 'Look, she's driving right to you guys,'" Sue said.

Sgt. Dan Christman confirmed receiving the Toyoda's 911 calls and their description of the event and said the driver was arrested on investigation of DUI and transported to the Snohomish County Jail. There were no injuries reported.

"It's a miracle she didn't head-on another car; someone could have been seriously hurt," Sue added, noting that the woman occasionally drove without her lights on and bounded into the opposite lane.

"I was surprised she didn't flip," Kimi said.

A Bothell Fire Department truck and two police cars were on the scene and blocked off Northeast 183rd Street with cones and flares from about 5-5:30 p.m.

Sgt. Christman said his department receives calls three to four days a week from concerned drivers spotting "recklessly driven vehicles." They once took a call from someone who followed another car from Interstate 90 to 405 in Bothell because they were concerned about the other person's driving ability.

"We always encourage them not to take action," Christman said, adding that, "We were lucky we had two traffic cars on call tonight when the call came in."

Contact Bothell Reporter Editor Andy Nystrom at editor@bothell-reporter.com or 425-483-3732, ext. 5050.

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