MARYSVILLE – An 18-year-old woman was struck by a van and pinned underneath in a freak accident Wednesday that injured two others in downtown Marysville.
Three men rushed to lift the van off the woman, pulled her free and applied a tourniquet before firefighters arrived, said Marysville Police Cmdr. Ralph Krusey.
“Her injuries were life-threatening,” Krusey said.
The Marysville woman was waiting around 3:15 p.m. at a bus stop in front of Dairy Queen on Fourth Street with two men, 19 and 22, when they were struck by the van, Krusey said.
A 68-year-old driver of a City Floral delivery van was in the Dairy Queen drive-through near Fourth Street and State Avenue when the driver said the accelerator pedal got stuck, Krusey said. The driver is from Everett.
The van jumped the curb and sidewalk and headed into oncoming traffic on Fourth Street before swerving back over the curb toward the Dairy Queen.
The white van struck the pedestrians and knocked over the bus stop sign and a tree.
The woman was critically injured and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The men were taken to an Everett hospital. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Cory Redford, who works at the Burger King across Fourth Street, was on a break in the restaurant parking lot when he heard the collision.
“It was pretty loud,” he said. “I mean it knocked over a tree. I’m glad that the tree was there. He might have gone into the Dairy Queen otherwise. That’s what stopped him.”
Richard Packard of Oak Harbor was one of the men who lifted the van off the victim.
He had been going through the drive-through with his daughter when the accident occurred. She called 911 while he went to help.
It was clear her leg was badly damaged and she lost a lot of blood, he said.
He held her hand and tried to divert her attention from her leg. His belt was used by another rescuer as the tourniquet.
A man introducing himself as Pastor Dan joined the rescue effort and offered a prayer.
“She was aware of what he was doing and said, ‘Amen,’ at the end,” he said.
Packard was hoping for the best Wednesday night and knows he is not alone.
“There were a lot of people helping out there,” he said.
Eastbound traffic on Fourth Street was detoured for several hours while Marysville police and Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies investigated.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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