Driver who allegedly hit, killed Kent 12-year-old had .150 BAC at time of fatal incident

KENT, Wash. — A 12-year-old is dead after he was hit by a driver in Kent Tuesday evening.

The boy was struck by a driver on 132nd Avenue near Southeast 230th Street at around 7 p.m.

According to court documents, the driver, a 19-year-old man, was going 50 miles an hour in a 35 mile an hour zone. The man was shirtless and shoeless when police arrested him. He also had blood around his face and neck.

Documents said he was “extremely emotional as he was crying, flailing his body, and yelling.” When officers asked him what happened, they could smell alcohol on him.

The man told officers he was driving southbound on 132 Avenue Southeast when he decided to test the truck’s suspension and passed southbound traffic via the oncoming northbound lane. Once he passed the cars, he moved back into the southbound lane, but his truck pulled to the right and he crashed into a car and the child who was riding his scooter. The child was riding on the shoulder of the road off the side of the white dividing line, according to documents.

The man’s BAC tested at .150, and he admitted to smoking marijuana hours earlier.

KIRO 7′s Briseida Holguin talked with the boy’s parents off-camera, who said their son was coming back from Clark Lake Park and was almost home when he was hit.

“It’s very sad news, he’s one of our kids in this neighborhood,” said neighbor Tenaye Alamu.

A good Samaritan stopped, called for help, and began CPR on the boy for several minutes until police and medics arrived.

Several people heard the wreck, and Alamu talked to drivers who said they witnessed the suspect driving recklessly and speeding in a 35 mph zone.

“They say the car — the black truck — passed them and it was over (the speed limit). By the time they reached this place, the accident already happened,” said Alamu.

Alamu said when she found out it was her neighbor who died, it wrecked her.

“He was so sweet, the whole neighborhood — we’re like a family, so he’s really sweet,” said Alamu.

Alamu said drivers often speed by and the city and police need to address the issue.

“I think the police department, they have to do something like traffic cameras or lower the speed limit,” she said.

If you have information about the crash, you’re asked to call the Kent Police Department tip line at 253-856-5808, send an email to KPDTipLine@kentwa.gov or call 911 if the information is time-sensitive.

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