EVERETT — Two fathers whose teenage sons were injured in an Oct. 24 car crash that killed one of their classmates urged the Snohomish County Council on Wednesday to consider safety improvements on the steep stretch of road where the accident occurred.
The Marysville Getchell High School students were in a Honda Civic that left the two-lane county road and struck a tree in the 8100 block of 108th Street NE, west of Highway 9.
“If things aren’t changed on that road, there is going to be another fatality and very likely a student fatality … in the next few years. There is no question about that,” said Michael Kundu, whose son, Lars, continues to recover from his injuries.
John Vavrousek, whose son, Andy, was injured in the crash, said the road is dangerous and has sight-line issues despite previous work aimed at improving safety.
“The bottom line is there is a problem,” he said.
Juan Mendoza, 16, the driver, was killed in the accident. The three boys were on their way to buy Slurpees at 7-Eleven and planned to return to Marysville Getchell for their cross-country practice, family members said. *
The fathers’ comments Wednesday were made during a hearing to approve the final plat for a housing development known as Marysville Highlands at 13000 81st Avenue NE. The Snohomish County Council did not make a decision Wednesday. It plans to continue its review next Wednesday.
Bill Haro, a traffic engineer representing the families, said the 35 mph speed limit is too fast for road conditions. He recommended changing the road alignment, lowering the speed limit or installing a traffic circle.
Ry McDuffy, a land surveying consultant representing the developer, told the council that the project meets all the conditions required by the county.
“A lot of the question here is not the stopping sight distance,” he said. “I think more the question is the speed of the car going through that intersection at that time was way in excess of 35” miles per hour.
Speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Ann Deutscher, an attorney representing the families, urged the County Council to carefully evaluate the situation.
“You now have had some dead and some living proof that that hill is not safe,” she said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
* Correction, Nov. 25, 2011: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported where the boys were going prior to the accident.
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