LYNNWOOD – One man was trying to cross Highway 99 to reach his family. The other, on a motorcycle, likely was headed home.
Both Lynnwood men died Wednesday afternoon when the motorcyclist hit the man as he was crossing the street, police said.
The impact threw the pedestrian about 80 feet, said witness Carlos Caldera, a salesman at nearby Tequila Motors.
The motorcycle tipped onto its side and slid for blocks before coming to a stop, police said. Both men died at the scene in the 18300 block of Highway 99.
The man attempting to cross the street had been looking at a car at Tequila Motors before he was struck, Caldera said. He showed the man a four-door brown Lincoln, and the man asked the price.
“He was so excited. He just wanted to go ask his wife,” who was waiting across the street with their three young children, Caldera said.
The man made it across two lanes of the four-lane street, Caldera said. A car in the center lane stopped for him, but the man on the motorcycle apparently didn’t see him.
“His wife said the motorcycle just came out of nowhere,” Caldera said. “He was going really fast, 60 (mph), 70, probably more. Even if he saw him, it was too late.”
The motorcyclist hit the brakes but couldn’t stop in time, witnesses said.
The man and his family had recently moved from Denver, possibly for a job, Caldera said.
The motorcyclist, 19, worked at a tile company and loved riding his bike, said a friend, J.T. Shostad, 19, of Bothell. The victim lived nearby and was probably on his way home, Shostad said.
“I knew something was bad when I saw that bike, even from way far away,” he said. “I guess he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Nearby businesses said several accidents have happened in that stretch of Highway 99, which is blocks from a crosswalk.
“We keep recommending they put in a stoplight and a crosswalk,” said Luis Rubio, who does sales and finance at Tequila Motors. “People keep trying to cross here. They don’t want to walk a long ways to the corner.”
The accident happened shortly before 3:30 p.m., Lynnwood Cmdr. Paul Watkins said.
The investigation closed about four blocks of the highway for more than three hours, slowing traffic and clogging side streets.
The accident remains under investigation, Lynnwood Sgt. Chuck Steichen.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@ heraldnet.com.
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