A 40-year-old woman was killed Thursday afternoon after a fiery crash near Lake Tapps.

 

The woman was driving a 2008 Lexus at an extremely high rate of speed when it left the road on the 4700 block of 218th Ave. East and crashed into a tree. Witnesses were able to pull her from the car before it was engulfed in flames. She was pronounced dead at a Tacoma hosital, Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

 

Family members told investigators that the woman was emotionally distraught when she began to drive, Troyer said. There were no signs of braking at the scene, and officers are continuing to investigate the crash.