Crash victim dedicated to husband, sons

EVERETT — To her sister, Rachael Kamin has been a constant source of inspiration.

She struck out on her own in her teens, working in fast-food restaurants while finishing high school.

She got a job as a nurse’s aide to pay her way through college, earning a nursing degree.

As a wife and mother, she has been devoted to her husband, whom she met in a college anatomy class, and to their two teenage boys.

“She would work (three 12-hour shifts) so she was home with her boys and so she would never miss one of their games,” said her sister, Misty Sibley. “Her world revolved around her boys. That was her life.”

Kamin was clinging to her life at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Tuesday.

Just before midnight Sunday, she suffered severe head injuries when a stolen pickup truck slammed into her car in downtown Everett.

Kamin, a registered nurse, was just a few blocks from her job at the south campus of Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. The full-size Ford F350 pickup allegedly was driven by a convicted car thief who was trying to outrun police, who had chased him all the way from Bothell.

She is “severely injured with a possibility of not making it through,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Elise Deschenes said in court Tuesday.

The Mukilteo woman suffered massive head injuries in the collision at Rucker and Pacific avenues.

The high-speed chase began when Bothell patrol officers spotted the pickup truck, which had been reported stolen from Lake Stevens last week. An Everett District Court judge on Tuesday set bail at $1 million for the suspect, Joseph D. Strange, 33. He has a long criminal history of stealing cars and trying to elude police.

He’s being held for investigation of second-degree assault, auto theft and attempting to elude police while being an ex-con on community custody.

More serious charges are possible, depending on Kamin’s medical condition.

“The prognosis does not look positive,” Everett police officer Aaron Snell said.

Sibley shared family photos of Kamin with her sons. In one, Kamin was surfing beside one of her boys in Hawaii.

Kamin, 40, always believed in saving up for one big family vacation each year.

Otherwise, she was quite frugal, her sister said.

“They wouldn’t buy frivolous stuff,” Sibley said. “They weren’t materialistic. All she saved for was her kids’ college educations. That’s what every penny went into. My sister is so caring. She loves her children so much.”

Everett detectives are looking for another passenger car hit by the fleeing pickup truck Sunday night at an AM/PM convenience store in the 1500 block of 1500 164th Street SE. That collision occurred just before 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.

They are asking that driver and anyone who witnessed the collision to call the Everett Police Department tip line at 425-257-8450.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.