UPDATE 6/30/09 11:45 AM:
The mother of the two little boys provides a quick update in comments:
from the family
Just landed at SeaTac. Boys and daddy got home from hospital last night and aside from some bumps, are ok.
Mom
More Tuesday updates at the end of this post.
The driver was arrested after questioning at the scene.
ORIGINAL REPORT 6/29/09 7:32 PM:
A driver was arrested tonight after the car he was driving struck a family crossing an Aloha Street crosswalk at the intersection of 15th Ave E. Two children were transported from the scene in ambulances, one of them strapped to a gurney. One adult who was struck was also wheeled on a gurney to the waiting ambulance. Their conditions are unknown at this time but scanner dispatches indicated the injuries did not appear to be life threatening.
The white Volvo involved in the 7:00 PM accident was stopped part way through the crosswalk where the family had been hit moments from the sidewalk. Not far away in the gutter lay a toppled stroller.
Traffic at the intersection was blocked for more than an hour as emergency crews responded.
UPDATE 11:21 PM:
KOMO TV is reporting that the children were and 1 and 3-years-old and were being walked by their father at the time of the accident.
KOMO is also saying police would not say whether the driver had been arrested or only handcuffed and questioned. Information we gathered at the scene indicated that the man was being arrested. We’ll keep working to confirm details and attempt to update information on the condition of the family.
UPDATE 6/30/09 10:37 AM:
Seattle Police confirm that the driver was, indeed, arrested but won’t say yet what crime the man was booked into jail on. His vehicle was impounded.
No additional information on the condition of the man and the two children who were struck. If anybody knows the family and would like to update everybody, please contact [email protected] or call us at (206) 399-5959.
Hoping for speedy and full recovery. How Driver must have been seriously zoned out. How do you hit someone in a crosswalk with a stop sign?
at that hour this time of year, the sun shines straight into westbound traffic making visibility awful. No excuse, though.
We live down the block and walked down to see the emergency vehicles. There was a little guy, not much more than 2 who was being looked over by medics while the father (I assume) was holding him. I couldn’t stay to watch more as I had my own toddler with me and it was too upsetting to think about.
My partner says there are two kinds of people in the world, those who stop for strollers and those who don’t. I’d love to see more enforcement at key intersections around the Hill – so many drivers have no clue.
My husband was inside a house on the corner, came outside, and is now emotionally thrashed by the experience. We have a young child, and he was horrified to see the two hurt kids and the (very, very, very upset) dad onscene. If anyone hears anything more about the kids’ and/or dad’s condition, we would MUCH appreciate it if someone could update.
Amazingly, a good friend of ours was in her car just behind the driver from the accident. I don’t know if she had opinions about the driver’s speed or anything, but she said SHE couldn’t see a thing because of the sun. AAAAAH! Terrible for the driver, the witnesses, probably the responding firefighters, and OF COURSE awful for the hurt family! No good here at all!
i’ve walked through this intersection hundreds of times. That picture of the stretched is too sad for words! I’ll be praying those kids are doing just fine!
I went through there just as emergency responders were arriving on the scene. It was tense and I was hopeful that whatever had happened will be resolved okay. Now I know what happened. Tragic! I don’t have trouble at 15th and Aloha with sun, but I have a terrible time with morning sun after the road curves at 11th near Lowell. That intersection scares the crap out of me.
The police have been enforcing the stop signs at 19th and Aloha on occasion. I’ve seen several (3 or 4) cars pulled over after dark around that intersection over the past couple of months.
Unfortunately there are a lot more bad drivers than that.
That driver must have been distracted, careless, messed up, who knows. I’ve not been hit by a car on Capitol Hill, but on Boren and Stewart, downtown. Fact is that being almost hit or actually hit by cars is a daily fact of life when one walks around in Seattle. Many drivers don’t seem to understand or care what a crosswalk is or what the right-of-way rules are. Others are talking on their phones and paying minimal attention to what’s in front of them. I see no difference in behavior there after using a handset while driving was made a second-level infraction.
While I’m on it, I also think the kind of wussy pedestrians who stand aside and wait anxiously for cars to pass… that doesn’t help either.
“While I’m on it, I also think the kind of wussy pedestrians who stand aside and wait anxiously for cars to pass… that doesn’t help either.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. Personally, crossing in front of traffic is not a right that I’m willing to die for. I’ve waited for cars to pass all my life, and I will continue to do so. It’s a system that apparently works better than yours, as I’ve never been hit by a car.
Besides, why would I stop moving traffic? To shave a few seconds off of my walk? Because I enjoy the power trip? In my opinion, pedestrian right of way is pointless, dangerous, and bad for the environment as it forces cars to burn extra fuel.
You’re welcome to roll the dice if you want, but those of us who don’t are not “wusses”, we’re intelligent.
I’m paranoid when I drive and when I walk… getting where I’m going is important, but I always kind of assume some little kid will chase a ball into the street or that some crazy driver is right around the corner.
But sometimes I guess things just happen too fast. I feel awful for the family, I hope they’re OK.
Be careful out there, folks!
Just landed at SeaTac. Boys and daddy got home from hospital last night and aside from some bumps, are ok.
Mom
Thanks for the update, mom! Glad to hear everyone is OK.
Thank god they are ok. I saw the dad and boys moments before it happened, I was on my way to the QFC and than on the way back saw the police and the stroller askew and the father comforting the toddler. It really scared and saddened me. I am so glad they are ok. PLEASE drivers be careful!
Is it possible for police to handcuff someone without arresting him? If you’re handcuffed, you’re not free to go, right? If you’re being held, aren’t you under arrest?