From the “whatever happened to …” file: Two collision cases

| High Point | Safety | West Seattle news | Westwood

It’s easy in the news business to just let stories drop after the initial report – tougher to remember to follow up, and then to find the followup information. But we do our best to keep checking back, and in that spirit, wanted to let you know what happened in a few notable collision cases — these can be the toughest to follow up on, since a major collision may require weeks or months for the Seattle Police Traffic Collision Investigation Squad to investigate and then for prosecutors to review before a citation or charge is filed. Here’s what happened in two cases — months old, but both cases eventually resulted in Municipal Court-handled citations that haven’t been reported before:

That photo is from last September 4th, when a 15-year-old girl was hit by an SUV while crossing 35th at Juneau in High Point (map). She was out of the hospital within two days, but the investigation and review took months; finally, Municipal Court online records show, the SUV’s 40-year-old driver was cited for passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.

Just a few weeks after the 35th/Juneau incident, we interviewed the motorcycle rider who survived being hit by a minivan in Westwood earlier in the year:

Karen Derby told us the story of her recovery in the months following the June 15, 2008, crash at 30th/Trenton (her story here; original crash report here). Municipal Court online records now show that, also after a long investigation, the 19-year-old driver was cited for running a stop sign.

We are still checking on a few other past cases, including the deadly crash at California/Dawson last fall that killed 92-year-old Rosemary MacCorkindale and, much more recently, two Junction collisions, including the one March 9 in which a pickup driver hit 13 other vehicles, and we’ll let you know when there’s something to report regarding the aftermath of those.

Eric B March 30, 2009 (6:29 am)

Thank you Tracy!
Follow up is one of the key things in great journalism.

austin March 30, 2009 (8:12 am)

It’s kind of weird that people who injure others with their vehicle due to negligent driving are only given minor moving violations.

Mike D. March 30, 2009 (9:21 am)

I appreciate the follow-up reporting on incidents like these. Thanks!

E March 30, 2009 (9:32 am)

I agree with austin. Perhaps there are good reasons or extenuating circumstances, but on the surface it appears that hurting someone with a vehicle is nor considered a big deal by the law.

B-squared March 30, 2009 (11:39 am)

i agree with Austin and E. there should be something like “vehicular assault”. also it would seem like running a stop sign or passing a car that is stopped at a crosswalk should incur a “reckless driving” citation, if there is such a thing, in addition to the other infraction, especially when someone was injured by the “recklessness”. hopefully the individual who caused the accident will get punished by their insurance company – if they have one.

Big Al (No, Not THAT One) March 31, 2009 (9:51 pm)

Thank you, WSB, yet again, for great work.

I again submit the accidenton 35th was fully avoidable. 35th’s four lanes need to be reduced to two — one in each direction. No more four lanes, way fewer fatalities. Simple.

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