Driver crashes on I-5 after swerving to avoid hitting cat

Herald staff

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE – A Mukilteo teen escaped serious injury in a car crash Monday when she swerved to avoid a cat on the freeway.

Miriam A. Choi, 17, suffered a sore neck and back in the crash about 10 a.m. on I-5 just north of 220th Street SW. She was treated at Stevens Hospital in Edmonds and later released.

According to the Washington State Patrol, Choi was southbound in the right lane when she swerved sharply to avoid a cat that ran in front of her 1999 Acura. The car crossed all lanes and ran off the road to the left.

There was no information on the fate of the cat.

Troopers estimated the damage to Choi’s car at $6,000.

MILL CREEK

Motorcyclist hurt: An Everett motorcycle rider was listed in stable condition Monday at Providence Everett Medical Center’s Colby Campus after a three-vehicle, hit-and-run crash on I-5.

Mark Mason, 38, suffered a broken right leg and an injured ankle in the crash about 7:45 p.m. Sunday on southbound I-5 just north of 128th Street SW.

According to the Washington State Patrol, an unknown motorist was southbound in the second lane from the right and Mason’s 2000 Kawasaki was southbound in the third lane. A 1999 Ford pickup driven by Richard D. Eisonhower, 58, of Marysville was southbound in the fourth lane from the right.

The unknown motorist changed lanes, moving into the third lane and colliding with Mason’s motorcycle, and the motorcycle then collided with Eisonhower’s pickup in the fourth lane, the State Patrol said. The motorcycle then ran off the road and struck a guardrail, ejecting Mason, the State Patrol said. The unknown motorist fled the scene.

Eisonhower was uninjured.

LAKE STEVENS

Girl critical: A 7-year-old girl who nearly drowned in a pool remained in critical condition Monday at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle.

The girl was swimming with other children Saturday afternoon at Lake Connor Park, a private campground east of Lake Stevens, when she slipped below the water’s surface. Another swimmer pulled her out and a nurse performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The girl’s name and hometown were unavailable.

EVERETT

Man critically injured: A Mukilteo man was in critical condition Monday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and his wife remained in satisfactory condition following a motorcycle crash Sunday.

Carl N. Jacobsen, 59, and his wife, Linda J. Jacobsen, 50, were injured Sunday afternoon when their motorcycle failed to negotiate a curve on the southbound I-5 offramp that connects to westbound lanes of the Boeing Freeway, Highway 526. He suffered a head injury, abdominal injuries and a broken right femur. She suffered a broken left wrist, a broken knee and abrasions.

Shooting charges: An Arlington man was ordered jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail Monday for his alleged role in a June 4 shooting near Granite Falls.

Curt Francis Hansford, 36, is charged with attempted first-degree murder. Snohomish County prosecutors allege Hansford opened fire at a 40-year-old Arlington man, hitting him twice, because he didn’t like the man calling him a "snitch."

Hansford appeared in Everett District Court Monday. He had left the state after the shooting and was later arrested in California and extradited here.

Witnesses told police that Hansford thinks of himself as an "enforcer" and reportedly calls himself "the Fixer." Hansford has felony convictions for drug delivery, burglary, assault and eluding police, as well as 20 misdemeanor convictions.

EDMONDS

Man found safe: An 87-year-old Edmonds man was found safe and was reunited with his family, Snohomish County sheriff’s officials announced Monday.

Washington State Patrol troopers found Norman Louis Eilert about 11 p.m. Sunday in Bellevue, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said. Eilert had been missing since about noon Sunday.

Eilert was in good condition, she said.

He suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and takes a variety of medications, which he had left home.