Traffic investigators with the Kent Police Department responded to a fatal traffic collision Wednesday evening on the East Hill.
Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the 11700 block of Southeast 233rd Place at 6:55 p.m. March 23. Initial reports indicated that a baby had been struck by a car.
Emergency responders arrived at the location within three minutes. They discovered the 14-month-old toddler in the driveway of a neighboring residence in critical condition. Efforts to stabilize the child proved unsuccessful and the child was pronounced dead while paramedics were preparing him for air transport to Seattle.
The toddler was identified Thursday as Fhamarke Ali by the King County Medical Examier’s Office, which ruled the death an accident and reported the boy died from a skull fracture.
Investigators believe that the child escaped from the family home without being seen. Moments later, a vehicle backing from the neighboring house struck the child. The driver of that car, an 18-year-old Kent woman, indicated she had not seen the child in the area of her vehicle prior to starting her movement. There is no indication that the driver was impaired or otherwise distracted from driving at the time of the collision.
“By all accounts, this appears to be a true accident,” Kent Police Lt. Pat Lowery said, “Our thoughts are with both these families as they work to cope with this devastating loss.”
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