Death toll on Washington state roads continues to rise

EVERETT, Wash. — A community of friends is mourning the deaths of three people, killed by a fleeing vehicle, as safety advocates are poised to push the state to fix on-going issues with its dangerous roads.

In all, five pedestrians were struck by a vehicle eyewitnesses say was speeding away from a traffic stop on Airport Road in Everett.

It happened early Saturday morning. Three people died because of that crash; two others were badly injured.

Still a lot of grief for the community after that tragedy. That grief embodied in this memorial friends of the victims have erected.  They are mostly unhoused and what happened here has hit them hard.

This, as traffic safety advocates plan to take their fight to Olympia.

A deep sadness lingers here, hours after five people were struck by a car eyewitnesses say was fleeing a police traffic stop.  Now three of them are gone. One was like a son to Lisa Hutchinson.

“He was killed instantly, on impact,” said Hutchinson, her voice breaking, “and we couldn’t find him at first.”

He was ultimately found, she says.

“Over there,” she said, nodding toward a pool of water next to the roadway.  “I’m hanging in there the best I can. I’m still dazed and in a total state of shock.”

The misery keeps piling up as the number of fatalities on the state’s roadways keeps rising.  In 2020, there were 859 deadly crashes in the state.  The number has gone up steadily to more than 800 fatal wrecks in 2023.

“We need to make sure these roadways are designed for people walking, biking, rolling,” said Kirk Hovenstotter, “and for people who just want to cross the street.”

Hovenstotter, executive director of Transportation Choices Coalition, asked to meet on Aurora Avenue in Seattle, one of the three most dangerous roadways in all of Washington state.  Now his organization is calling on the state legislature to implement a so-called ‘mega safety project.’

“A ‘mega project for safety,’” he says, “would entail fixing roads like Aurora (in Seattle), Division (Street in Spokane), and Pacific Avenue (in Tacoma) with more sidewalks, more crosswalks and medians that will make it easier to cross the street.”

Until then, there will likely be more painful moments like this.

“It just shows you how precious life is,” said Hutchinson, wiping away tears. “And life is not a right. It’s a gift.”

Eyewitnesses say the three people in the car jumped out.  But K-9 tracked them down.

Now Everett police say they still have not determined who was driving.

So, they have let the three people go while the investigation continues.

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