Washington Woman Faces 5 Charges After I-5 Crash and Stabbing of 9-Year-Old

Q: What hidden details about the driver's relationship to the young victims remain unanswered in this terrifying roadside assault?

The key unanswered detail in the initial reporting was the woman’s relationship to the two girls. Early accounts from Washington State Patrol said only that two children were in the SUV and explicitly noted that troopers had not released how the driver was connected to them. Later reporting and court filings answered that question: prosecutors alleged the 35-year-old Steilacoom woman, identified as Janieka Amber Marie Ellington, was the girls’ mother and that the victims were her two daughters, ages 9 and 15. Charging documents said she was accused of intentionally crashing the SUV and then attacking the girls with a knife. That later information also filled in other hidden details behind the roadside assault. Investigators said the older daughter told troopers her mother had woken the girls during the night, claimed people were following them, and drove around for hours. Prosecutors alleged the mother threatened to kill both children before those imagined pursuers could do so. Authorities also said the older girl reported seeing her mother drinking the night before, and a trooper reported Ellington later said she had been drinking whiskey and had not slept. So the major unanswered relationship question from the early story was whether the driver was a parent, guardian, or unrelated adult. Subsequent charging records indicate she was the children’s mother, turning what first appeared to be a shocking post-crash attack into an alleged attempted murder case within the family.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 7

A 35-year-old Steilacoom woman was booked into the Pierce County Jail after authorities said she stabbed a 9-year-old girl and threatened a 15-year-old following a rollover crash on Interstate 5 near DuPont.
The 9-year-old suffered multiple broken bones and a stab wound, while the 15-year-old was hospitalized with non-serious injuries; the semi-truck driver hit in the crash was not hurt.
Troopers said the SUV hit a barrier, swerved across the freeway into a semi-truck, struck the barrier again and rolled over, after the woman had allegedly been driving erratically.
Two soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and other bystanders restrained and disarmed the woman at the scene; she is expected to face 2 assault counts, vehicular assault and 2 reckless endangerment counts.
Investigators were still examining the crash cause, possible DUI and the woman's relationship to the girls, while witnesses urged recognition for the soldiers' intervention.