The 13-year-old girl killed Saturday in Kent after being hit by a pickup truck while crossing Pacific Highway South had just moved to the Kent area with her family a few weeks ago from Afghanistan.
Kent Police and fire personnel were sent to the 23400 block of Pacific Highway South at 6:07 p.m. Saturday after a family crossing the busy roadway on the rainy night were struck by a passing vehicle.
The family attempted to cross Pacific Highway, just south of the Kent Des Moines Road intersection. As the family made their way across the lanes of travel, they crossed into the path of a southbound vehicle. The pickup driver was unable to avoid the collision, striking the 31-year-old father and throwing the young teen pedestrian to the ground. The impact also sent the girl’s 31-year-old mother to the ground.
“The family is new to the country and the Kent area and English is their second language,” said Kent Police Cmdr. Jarod Kasner. “It is unclear where they were going.”
Paramedics worked to revive the girl but were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead at the scene. As of Wednesday, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office had not released the name of the girl. Kasner said he didn’t have any information about whether the girl had enrolled in school.
The father and mother were treated for non-life threatening injuries and transported to a nearby hospital. The names and condition of the family members have not been released.
“The conditions of this tragic collision were made worse because the collision occurred within sight of a fully marked and controlled crosswalk,” Kasner said.
Pedestrians regularly jaywalk just south of the Kent Des Moines Road intersection and often use the median to wait to finish crossing the six-lane highway.
Kent Police traffic investigators closed two lanes of Pacific Highway South to conduct their investigation. The driver of the pickup is cooperating with investigators.
Kasner said he didn’t have any information about the age and hometown of the driver involved in the accident.
Man killed in 2012 at same spot
The accident marked the second death in three years in the same block of Pacific Highway South. William L. Smith, 68, was killed in February 2012 after being struck by a motorcycle while trying to walk across the highway at night.
As Smith crossed the busy highway on a rainy night, he stepped into the path of a southbound motorcycle, according to Kent Police. The motorcyclist was unable to avoid the collision, striking and knocking Smith to the ground. The impact also knocked the motorcycle to the ground.
Witnesses reported to police that Smith didn’t appear to be crossing the street for any particular reason. Smith was a transient.
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