TULALIP — Drowning claimed the lives of four young people who died after a pickup truck left the road and went into a hatchery pond on the Tulalip Indian Reservation early Tuesday morning.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office on Wednesday identified the four as Ariela Vendiola, 15, of Marysville; Lynnishia Larson, 16, of Marysville; Tyson D. Walker, 21, of Tulalip; and Dylan Monger, 22, of Tulalip.
All had attended local schools, according to Marysville School District records.
Vendiola and Larson were enrolled to attend Marysville Pilchuck High School for their junior year this fall.
Monger last attended Marysville Arts and Technology High School and Walker had attended the Academy of Construction and Engineering at Marysville Getchell High School.
“We are grieving today over the devastating loss of four young people, all current or former students in our district,” school district Superintendent Becky Berg said.
“We extend our support and sympathy to all of their families. This is yet another reminder of how fragile life is and how we must again bond together as a community,” Berg said.
As dusk fell Wednesday, more than 100 people gathered near the accident scene to light candles, sing and remember those lost. Family members came from throughout the Tulalip and Swinomish communities. The fence along the bridge over the pond was decked out with balloons and flowers.
The accident was reported around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. A caller reported that a pickup truck had crashed near the 7500 block of Totem Beach Road. The truck went over a concrete barrier and landed in a tribal fish-rearing pond.
The sheriff’s Collision Investigation Unit will reconstruct what happened. Such investigations often take six months to a year before findings are shared.
The crash and the subsequent recovery of the truck wiped out several sections of 4-foot-high cyclone fence, leaving a 33-foot gap.
The pickup landed atop netting designed to protect the hatchery fish from birds. It could not bear the weight of the truck, which became submerged.
Herald photographer Mark Mulligan contributed to this story.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com
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