83-year-old pedestrian killed by hit-and-run SUV driver
83-year-old pedestrian killed in Seattle hit-and-run
Seattle police are trying to find an SUV driver that killed an elderly woman in SODO on Monday morning.
SEATTLE - An 83-year-old woman is dead following a hit-and-run crash on Monday morning.
Timeline:
Seattle police responded to the scene at 4th Avenue South and South Spokane Street in SODO around 7:45 a.m. on May 5.
Officers have since determined the woman was walking westbound in the crosswalk when she was struck by an SUV attempting to make a right turn.
Police continue looking for the driver they say fled the scene on Monday. Roads in the immediate area of the crash were shut as investigators worked to clear the scene.
Police cordoned off the area until detectives with the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) arrived and processed the scene.
What's next:
If anyone has information, please contact TCIS at 206-684-8923.
83-year-old pedestrian killed in SODO hit-and-run
An 83-year-old woman is dead following a hit-and-run crash on Monday morning.
What they're saying:
Pedestrians say crossing the intersection at 4th Ave South and South Spokane Street can be a risky endeavor.
While minding the crossing signal, Tammie Luc, who works nearby, says you also have to be on the lookout for drivers who might lose their patience, or those with a lead foot.
"The street is actually very dangerous," said Luc. "I have to make eye contact with the driver before I cross the street."
"They come off the path and, you know, they don’t know what the brake pedal looks like, and ‘zoom’," said Kenny Harris, a cyclist.
Police say the woman was killed in the crosswalk Monday while walking west, in the direction of the Seattle City Light South Service Center, where Luc works.
"A lot of people just drive around the corner and look to the left, they don’t look to the right and that’s when a pedestrian will be walking over," said Luc. "There are many times people almost got hit. So, that’s what happened."
The Washington Traffic Safety Commission says deadly crashes involving pedestrians have skyrocketed statewide over the past few years.
In 2014, she says 85 pedestrian fatalities were reported. By 2021, the number had jumped to 160 and in 2023 it had increased to 177, the highest on record.
She says in 2023 in King County, a total of 168 people were killed in traffic crashes. Sixty of those were pedestrian and bicyclists.
"One of the biggest factors is speed," said Shelly Baldwin, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
Baldwin says when drivers are at speeds of 20-25 mph or lower, people who are hit are more likely to survive. She says new legislation could eventually help to stop cases of excessive speeding and save lives. Baldwin says the legislation is HB 1596. It is called the BEAM act, representing the initials of an adult and three children killed in King County by a driver doing over 100 mph in a 35-mph zone. She says it will allow judges to order speed-limiter devices to be installed in the vehicles of offenders.
"That tracks by GPS and other means what the speed limit is supposed to be and helps to limit their car to that limit," said Baldwin.
Luc and Harris say other safety measures would also help at the intersection where the crash occurred.
"I would say blinking lights," said Luc.
"There has to be more protection here than anything else," said Harris.
Until that time, Luc says pedestrians at that location should remain extra vigilant.
"We witness a lot of those accidents the street is not safe," said Luc.
Police say investigators have collected evidence at the scene, including surveillance video.
Spokesperson Detective Eric Munoz, Seattle Police Department says they are not releasing any images or descriptions from the video at this time but adds that the department will be working to find that SUV and driver.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Police Department.
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