2 people killed, 2 injured in North Seattle crash
Mar 25, 2013, 4:38 PM | Updated: Mar 26, 2013, 2:54 pm
Two people were killed and two others, including a baby and mother, were seriously injured injured in a car crash on 33rd Ave. NE and NE 75th Street in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood. (Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio)
(Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio)
Two people were killed and two others critically injured when a car plowed into a group of pedestrians at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street in Seattle’s Wedgwood neighborhood Monday afternoon.
The 50-year-old driver suspected of hitting the group of pedestrians near Eckstein Middle School, killing two and gravely injuring two others, including a 10-day-old baby, was arrested twice recently on drunken driving charges, according to court records.
Mark W. Mullan had at least two previous drunken driving cases – one in Seattle and another in Snohomish County – in the past four months, The Seattle Times reports.
Mullan was arrested in December driving the same car involved in Monday’s deadly collision, according to Washington State Patrol records. That crime also involved a hit-and-run.
A 66-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman died at the scene Monday. And a 33-year-old woman and a 10-day-old infant remained in critical condition Tuesday morning, said Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg.
The infant was not breathing when medics arrived, “so we initiated CPR and got the heartbeat back,” said Kyle Moore, Seattle Fire Department spokesman. The woman suffered a serious head injury, Moore said.
It was not known whether the woman was the infant’s mother.
“This is obviously a very tragic situation,” said Police Deputy Chief Nick Metz. “It’s not very normal that we have this level of folks who are victimized in this way.”
The driver didn’t answer reporters’ questions as police led him away in handcuffs. Police said he stopped after the collision and was cooperative. A phone number listed for Mullan was disconnected.
Seattle police say alcohol or drugs may have been a factor in the crash.
The accident occurred across the street from a middle school, and Metz said police would be more visible in the area in the immediate future.
Moore said the crash was particularly jarring for first-responders.
“It hits both police and fire … they have kids, it hits them hard.”
Seattle Police Detective Jeff Kapel told KIRO Radio reporter Brandi Kruse the reconstruction of the accident could take days or even months.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
