Two Soldiers Disarm Washington Mother Accused of Stabbing Her Children

A Crash Turns Into a Rescue

A highway emergency on Interstate 5 near DuPont, Washington, became a desperate rescue scene on Monday. The Washington State Patrol said a 35-year-old woman was driving erratically when her Volkswagen Tiguan hit a barrier, rolled across the freeway, and slammed into a semi-truck. The vehicle then struck another barrier and rolled again. After the crash, state police said passersby witnessed the woman stabbing her two children, ages 9 and 15. Two soldiers in military uniforms traveling from nearby Joint Base Lewis-McChord stopped and raced toward the scene.

The Soldiers Move Toward the Danger

Witness Nathan Wilkinson said the soldiers wrestled the woman for the knife, forced her to the ground, and held her there until the Washington State Patrol arrived. The soldiers did not drive past the crash or wait for someone else to act. They stepped into a dangerous situation and stayed until the woman was taken into custody. That kind of courage is not a slogan. It is action when frightened children need help.

A Witness Describes the Split-Second Response

Wilkinson described the intervention to KING 5 News. “There’s people standing around, then all of a sudden there was a flash, and then the two soldiers jumped on a person. I heard a scream at that time,” he said. “I saw one of the soldiers had a knife in his hand that he had dislodged from the person they tackled.” Wilkinson also emphasized that the soldiers did not simply continue down the interstate. “They didn’t run away, they didn’t pass, drive on by. They stopped and helped,” he said.

Injuries and Expected Charges

The Washington State Patrol said the younger child suffered broken bones and stab wounds. The older child’s condition was unknown. The woman was taken to a hospital and then booked into the Pierce County Jail. She was expected to face two counts of assault, vehicular assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment. Those were expected charges, not convictions, and the soldiers’ names were not known at the time of the account.