A 24-year-old woman was killed early this morning and her teenage sister who was in the back seat of her car was seriously injured the car she was driving at a high rate of speed went off a street in the Spanaway area and hit a tree.

PIerce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said alcohol was found in the 1999 Nissan Altima.

The driver had to be cut from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene, he said. Her 16-year-old sister was in the back seat and wearing a seat belt. She suffered serious internal injuries and was taken to a hospital, Troyer said.

No one was in the passenger seat of the car, and investigators believe a person might have fled the scene of the crash and possibly left in another car. Deputies searched the area but found no trace of anyone, he said.

Troyer said it’s possible the woman was driving recklessly with one or more cars. He said they might have been racing, but the road there didn’t lend itself to that kind of activity.

The speedometer of the car was stuck at 55 mph, he said.

Anyone who left the scene could find themselves in serious trouble, Troyer said. They left behind one person who was dying an another seriously injured, he explained.

The crash occurred about 2:15 a.m. at 500 131st St. E. The woman was driving  eastbound.

The name of the driver wasn’t released pending notification of next of kin. Troyer said the woman’s husband is in the Navy and deployed aboard an aircraft carrier.