Toddler in critical condition after crash in Edmonds

Published 11:17 pm Wednesday, December 5, 2007

EDMONDS — An early morning car crash Wednesday sent a badly hurt toddler to the hospital and closed 196th Street SW in Edmonds for several hours, officials said.

The 18-month-old girl was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was in critical condition in the intensive care unit Wednesday evening, said Susan Gregg-Hansen, a hospital spokeswoman. The girl’s mother and her sister, 7, were in satisfactory condition.

Police believe the mother was driving a small blue Honda westbound on 196th Street just after 6 a.m. when she crashed into a garbage truck stopped to pick up trash on the roadside, Edmonds police Sgt. Don Anderson said.

The Honda had “significant front-end damage,” he said.

The injuries are “very serious,” Anderson said.

There’s no indication that alcohol or drugs were a factor, Anderson said.

The girls were in child seats and the family all appeared to be wearing seat belts, he said.

“It’s just a terrible accident,” he said.

About four blocks of 196th were closed for several hours between 76th Avenue W. and 80th Avenue W. as Washington State Patrol troopers investigated the crash, he said.

Traffic was detoured around the accident site.

“It’s just a really, really tragic story, especially during the holiday season,” Anderson said. “It’s really heartbreaking.”

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.