UPDATE: 7-year-old boy paralyzed from devastating King County crash
May 24, 2016, 1:26 PM | Updated: May 26, 2016, 3:03 pm
(KIRO 7)
Update: A 7-year-old boy was paralyzed and his father is in critical condition after the pickup truck they were riding in was T-boned by a BMW traveling at an “incredibly high speed,” according to the statement of probable cause from the King County Sheriff’s Office. The BMW was allegedly driven by a 15-year-old female who police suspect was under the influence.
According to the statement of probable cause, the interior of the BMW smelled like cannabis and the 15-year-old female driver lied about her identity. Deputies said the teenager had to be fingerprinted at the scene to verify who she was. She was arrested on two counts of vehicular assault and one count of reckless endangerment and later booked into the youth services center.
Reports that the female driver is currently being held on house arrest until her court appearance is what irks KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.
“If the details of this are accurate, how in God’s names she on house arrest?” he asked. “How is she able to leave any youth or jail facility?”
Original story: A father and his 7-year-old son suffered life-threatening injuries after a crash involving a 15-year-old girl who was believed to be intoxicated while driving.
The two-vehicle crash occurred at about 10 p.m. Monday on 136th and Des Moines Memorial Drive South along the Burien and SeaTac city line. King County Sheriff John Urquhart told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson a 15-year-old female sped through a stoplight in a BMW carrying five other people, broadsiding a pickup truck carrying the father and son. The front-seat passenger in the BMW was in his early 20s, Urqhart said, while three others were two teenagers and a 5-year-old.
The occupants of the pickup truck were transported to Harborview Medical Center, but the other five individuals were not believed to be seriously injured, with some of the involved individuals fleeing the scene, Urquhart said.
“As you can imagine it was a very chaotic scene,” Urqhart said. “The five people in the BMW were all out walking around. The father and son in the pickup truck were unconscious, so we’re working on them, we’re trying to get some information from the people walking around, and three people in the backseat – the 5-year-old and the two teenagers – for all practical purposes, ran off. So we still don’t know who they were and obviously we’re very interested in talking to them.”
Urqhart said the 15-year-old was booked into the youth center for vehicular assault while police await a blood test. He said the suspicion is that she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The prosecutor will ultimately decide whether to charge the driver as an adult.
“Certainly the father and son have life-threatening injuries and may not survive,” Urquhart said. “We just don’t know yet.”
Urqhart said law enforcement are not sure whose car the teenager was driving or how she may have accessed drugs or alcohol. He said the car owner and alleged provider of alcohol or drugs can “absolutely” be charged in this case. The department will pursue that avenue.