Woman Killed In High Speed Car Crash Near Puyallup

PUYALLUP, WA — One woman has died and a man is behind bars after a deadly crash in the South Hill area Sunday.

According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, the crash happened around 11 a.m. near the intersection of Canyon Road and 128th St E.

Investigators say shortly before the crash, a black SUV had been driving south on Canyon Road, and had been turning onto 128th when a white sedan traveling at high speed 128th rear-ended the SUV. It hit the SUV so hard, the sedan flipped up and over the SUV, landing upside down in the road.

The driver of that sedan, a 32-year-old man, sustained some minor injuries but survived the crash. However, the SUV's driver, a 31-year-old woman, was killed.

The victim was later identified by family and investigators as Nina Fournier, a mother of two. Fournier's uncle Mike Swenson told KOMO that she was a beloved member of the community who will be dearly missed.

"Everybody loved her," Swesnon said.

Meanwhile the investigation into the suspect's state of mind continues. Court documents show that the suspect, identified as Pierce Pearson, said several bizarre things to medics and deputies after the collision, including that he had intended to "prove he was god" and had been driving since the day before.

When a deputy first confronted Pearson about the crash, he allegedly asked the officer "what collision?"

Prosecutors suspect he had been high at the time of the crash: the court documents say he told nurses he "takes quite a few pills to maintain his body," and that he had used heroin the night before to help get to sleep.

His blood has been drawn and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Following the blood draw and his treatment for minor injuries, Pearson was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide.