Prosecutors in King County have charged a Costco employee with second-degree murder following a deadly crash that investigators say stemmed from a workplace obsession. The victim, 20-year-old Jonathon Langdon, was killed on July 31, 2026, when Tyler Sorensen, 22, allegedly used his car as a weapon to ram Langdon’s motorcycle off the road in Issaquah, Wash., authorities said.
During his August 6 court appearance, Sorensen entered a plea of not guilty. A judge ordered him held on $2 million bail and prohibited him from reaching out to the victim’s relatives, witnesses or the woman at the center of the alleged jealous attack.
Admissions to Detectives
In statements to police, Sorensen confessed that the collision was no accident. The Issaquah Police Department (IPD) said he acknowledged striking the motorcycle on purpose in a fit of rage. “It was stupid but I, I was, I meant to do it,” he told investigators during questioning, though he also claimed he only intended to scare Langdon and “didn’t mean to hit” him.
Surveillance cameras captured the deadly encounter in graphic detail. Court records state the footage shows Langdon’s body flung through the air after impact, his frame violently striking a metal signpost, wrapping around it and then falling to the pavement. Emergency responders attempted to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene despite wearing a helmet, the IPD said.
A Hug That Set Off the Attack
Authorities believe the violence was triggered when Sorensen witnessed Langdon hugging a female colleague he had fixated on. Sorensen told detectives the woman was his former girlfriend, but she denied that claim entirely, telling police they had never been romantically involved and that she had repeatedly told him to respect her boundaries.
After spotting the embrace, Sorensen photographed the two colleagues and texted the image to friends along with a message stating the woman had always insisted Langdon was merely a friend. He also wrote that his blood was boiling, prosecutors allege.
The attack occurred around 9 p.m. local time as Langdon left the Costco parking lot on his motorcycle. Prosecutors contend Sorensen had already attempted to strike both Langdon and the woman with his vehicle in the lot itself, then waited approximately 10 minutes before trailing Langdon onto the roadway. Once there, he swerved across traffic lanes and deliberately crashed into the bike, sending the rider airborne, court filings state.
Moments after the crash, Sorensen allegedly texted friends, writing “I *** up bad.”
A Father’s Intervention and the Court Case
Rather than stopping, Sorensen drove away from the scene and headed home, pulling over only to examine damage to his sedan, authorities say. In a jarring detail, he was pulled over and ticketed for speeding shortly after leaving Langdon dying on the pavement, according to prosecutors.
He did not turn himself in voluntarily. Prosecutors say his father learned what had occurred and brought him back to the crash site roughly an hour later to face police. That surrender led to his arrest and the murder charge now being handled by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Sorensen remains in custody at the King County Jail. The judge’s bail conditions also bar him from any contact with eyewitnesses to the incident. His next court date is scheduled for August 27, and it remains unclear whether he has secured an attorney.
The IPD noted that video evidence showing the suspect’s car striking the motorcycle and causing fatal injuries to the rider supports Sorensen’s own statements admitting deliberate intent. Both Langdon and Sorensen worked at Costco, where what started as an ordinary shift ended in what prosecutors describe as a killing fueled by jealous rage over a coworker.