3 children in Tacoma hit by vehicles during Halloween night, two victims are 8 years old

TACOMA, Wash. — Three children in Tacoma were hit by vehicles as they were trick-or-treating during Halloween night. Two of the victims are 8 years old.

Tacoma police told KIRO 7 News that the first crash happened in Northeast Tacoma at the intersection of Nassau Avenue Northeast and Northshore Parkway Northeast, just a couple blocks away from an elementary and middle school.

At about 6:30 p.m., detectives said an eight-year-old child was hit by a vehicle. The child suffered minor injuries and was not taken to a hospital.

The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. No arrests were made, however, the driver received a ticket.

More than an hour later, an eight-year-old child was hit by a vehicle near the intersection of East 59th Street and East Portland Avenue.

Matthew Washam captured this footage of the scene.

The child was rushed to a hospital with serious injuries.

As of Friday, there are no details on the child’s current condition.

The driver remained at the scene. No arrests have been made as the investigation is still ongoing.

KIRO 7 News spoke with Jessica Hauglum, a mother of two, who had rushed to the road to help the young child.

“I see a little girl laying in the middle of the road,” she shared. “I was terrified. I was terrified for that child.”

Hauglum said the driver called 911 as she cared for the little girl.

The young child just started trick-or-treating, said Hauglum after she had found her with an empty Halloween bag.

The mother told KIRO 7 News that Portland Avenue is notorious for speeding.

“Scared. I’m always scared. I’m scared of this road. I’m scared of trying to pull into my driveway that I’m going to get rear ended because people go so fast,” she said. “There have been two pedestrians hit in the last couple of weeks, one of them did not make it.”

“Please slow down. These are people’s children,” the mother said. “Halloween is my favorite holiday, but after witnessing that, it tainted the holiday for me. It’s definitely going to leave a mark on me. I feel like it’s not safe anymore. It’s not a safe holiday.”

Later that night at 8:30 p.m., investigators said a 13-year-old child was hit by a vehicle near the intersection of 96th Street and A Street.

KIRO 7 News received surveillance video, which captured a vehicle passing through an intersection before it struck the child.

The driver stayed at the scene. No arrests have been made in this incident, as of Friday.

Orion Crockett, who lives near the crash scene, said drivers are speeding way too often in the area.

“It’s almost like an every night occurrence. It really is. Every time, just people zooming,” he shared.

“After that night, I was almost in tears. This happens every time. People speeding down here without any thought in the world. It’s awful and I would never imagine that. I feel horrible for the parents at this point,” Crockett added.

Neighbors told KIRO 7 News that they would like the City of Tacoma to install stop lights, stop signs or a roundabout to help slow traffic.

KIRO 7 News reached out to the City of Tacoma to get its response and any details about possible plans to address these. We’re still waiting to hear back.

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