Driver sought in hit-and-run death of teen on U.S. 2
Published 10:58 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2009
EVERETT — She was walking alone along the U.S. 2 trestle Saturday night when her small body was struck by a vehicle, police believe.
The girl who was found Monday afternoon behind a jersey barrier hasn’t been formally identified, but Washington State Patrol officials said they want to talk to anyone who might have information about the fatal hit-and-run.
Detectives believe the girl who died was a teenager. She was 5-foot-2 with strawberry blond hair. The night she died, she was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, black tank top and black-and-white flip flops. Strung around her neck were chains that held a man’s class ring, two diamond rings, an amulet and a cross.
The girl’s identity is expected to be released soon by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s office.
“Whoever struck this individual knows they struck an individual,” Washington State Patrol detective Craig Cardinal said. “They have to know they hit something.”
On Wednesday, detectives showed reporters some bits and pieces of the vehicle collected along 1,400 feet of the busy freeway.
The items included a blood splattered side-view mirror, a headlight, a radio antenna and a chip of bluish-green paint. Detectives think the paint may be key in identifying the vehicle that struck and killed the girl.
The damage likely is on the passenger side of the vehicle. Detectives are looking for a General Motors pickup truck with a canopy, or an SUV. The likely model years are 1994 to 1999, Cardinal said.
“We want to find out who struck and killed this person,” trooper Keith Leary said.
He urged whoever is responsible to come forward. It will be more difficult for that person if troopers are forced to track that person down, he said.
Police believe the girl was hit around 10 p.m. Saturday. They believe the vehicle that struck the girl stopped and then fled, Leary said.
Although it’s against the law for people to walk on freeways, officials say it happens.
A 15-year-old Everett girl, Haley B. Salvador, died March 29 trying to run across I-5 near the Everett Mall. The teen made it through the busy southbound traffic, across the wooded median and onto the northbound lanes when she was fatally struck by two cars.
Haley’s family and friends later learned she was taking a dangerous shortcut.
Leary said there is a pedestrian walkway along U.S. 2 that allows people to get from Everett to Lake Stevens safely on foot.
The girl wasn’t on the pedestrian route. Detectives believe she was hit while walking in the breakdown lane, which can only legally be used for traffic during rush hour.
“These aren’t for pedestrians,” Leary said. “You don’t go walking on a highway.”
