MUKILTEO – Two eighth-grade girls were hit by a car Wednesday while waiting for a school bus to take them to their first day of classes at Olympic View Middle School.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Police are investigating the possibility that the driver, a 52-year-old Mountlake Terrace man, suffered a seizure before he veered off the road and crashed into the girls, Mukilteo Police Chief Mike Murphy said.
A school bus had stopped to pick up the girls at about 8 a.m. on Mukilteo Speedway about eight blocks south of the ferry terminal.
The girls were about 16 feet from the bus on the west-side shoulder when a car drove into the path of the bus, swerved and struck the two girls, both 14.
The car then crashed into a tree, Murphy said.
“All of sudden, I see the hood of the car barreling through, and one of the girls goes cartwheeling through the air,” said Herald employee Kelly Hulin, who was two cars behind the bus.
Hulin, other witnesses and neighbors helped the girls, who were both conscious. One girl’s father was at her side within minutes. She was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was treated for a broken leg.
The other girl seemed to be in shock and was very concerned about her friend, Hulin said. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated and released.
The man driving the car also was taken to Harborview with a broken neck, Murphy said.
The students on the bus were shaken up but not hurt, said Hulin, whose daughter was a passenger on the bus. They were loaded onto another bus and taken to the school about a mile away.
The Mukilteo School District brought extra counselors to the school to help students who had witnessed the accident, district spokesman Andy Muntz said. A letter also was sent home to parents to advise them of the crash and the condition of the girls.
The cause of the accident remained under investigation. Witnesses told police the car passed several vehicles in a no-passing zone and was speeding before the crash, Murphy said.
The red lights on the bus were flashing and its stop sign was out, requiring traffic to stop in all directions.
It wasn’t known if a medical emergency caused the man to lose control of his car, the chief said. Police had not spoken to him yet on Wednesday.
Police and school officials say the accident is a reminder of the need for extra caution in school zones and near bus stops.
“School is now in session. We need drivers to pay attention,” Muntz said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@ heraldnet.com.
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