Washington Mother Crashes Her SUV, Then Starts Stabbing Her Own Two Children, Two Soldiers Jump Her, Saving The Kids

Two Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers are being credited with stopping a knife attack on two young girls after a chaotic rollover crash on Interstate 5 near DuPont, Washington, early Monday morning.

Washington State Patrol says a 35-year-old woman from Steilacoom was driving an SUV southbound on I-5 with two juvenile passengers,a 9-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl, when the vehicle began driving erratically just before 9 a.m. near Center Drive. Troopers report the SUV struck the left barrier, crossed the freeway toward the right shoulder, veered back left, collided with a semi-truck, struck the barrier again, and rolled multiple times before coming to rest in the HOV lane.

All three occupants managed to climb out of the wrecked vehicle. Witnesses then told authorities the woman pulled a knife and began attacking the two girls. Two uniformed JBLM soldiers who were driving past the scene stopped, ran toward the confrontation, tackled the woman to the ground, and took the knife from her hand, according to Washington State Patrol Sgt. John Dattilo and eyewitness accounts.

“If that hadn’t happened, we don’t know what the outcome would be, but we can assume the worst,” Dattilo said.

The 9-year-old girl suffered broken bones and a stab wound. The 15-year-old was not seriously injured. Both girls were transported to a hospital and are in stable condition. The semi-truck driver was unharmed. The woman was also taken to a hospital for evaluation and is expected to be booked on suspicion of DUI, vehicular assault, and first-degree assault once she is released.

Eyewitness Nathan Wilkinson, who was driving to work when he came upon the scene, described seeing debris scattered along the roadway and then watching the soldiers restrain the woman. He told local reporters he saw one of the soldiers holding the knife after it was removed from the woman’s hand and praised the men for not driving past the incident.

Authorities have not publicly confirmed the relationship between the driver and the two girls, though multiple accounts describe the juveniles as passengers in her vehicle. The investigation remains ongoing.

The swift action by the two soldiers drew widespread attention after video and still images of the intervention circulated online, with many highlighting the military members’ decision to intervene while the situation was still unfolding and before troopers arrived on scene.