Washington police identify 2 people killed in overpass crash

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Two people were killed inside a vehicle that drove off an overpass bridge, Washington state authorities said.

James Pearson, 45, and his passenger, 50-year-old Lashonda Burgess, died when the car plunged off the bridge in Tacoma around 7 p.m. Wednesday, The News Tribune reported last week.

Drugs or alcohol are believed to have been a factor in the accident that killed the Tacoma residents, the Washington State Patrol said.

A 27-year-old woman who was in the vehicle was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center in serious condition. The survivor was the only person in the vehicle wearing a seat belt, authorities said.

The vehicle went through a fence on the west side of the street and drove off the overpass before landing on a median in the Interstate 5 and Interstate 705/Route 7 interchange, police said.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.