By Katherine Schiffner
Herald Writer
ARLINGTON — A 12-year-old girl was killed Friday evening after she fell from the back of a pickup truck rounding a corner, Stillaguamish tribal police said.
The girl was reportedly standing up in the bed of the pickup when the truck turned the corner and she fell out, said Police Chief Felix Moran.
"This was an accident that turned tragic," Moran said.
He said the adult woman who was driving the pickup is under investigation for second-degree manslaughter under tribal law because the girl was riding outside the vehicle.
"Witnesses were saying (the driver) wasn’t going much more than the speed limit, and the speed limit there was 10," Moran said. "(But) when you’re turning a corner, it doesn’t take much."
He emphasized that it is unsafe for children to ride in the bed of a pickup.
"Adults who want to make that decision and ride in the back, that’s fine, provided that they’re sitting down, but children, that’s another matter," he said. "They should be wearing seat belts."
The crash occurred about 5 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Stoluckquamish Lane and Che Che Yel Place.
The girl was taken to Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she died, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The driver is the grandmother of a friend of the girl’s, Moran said. The driver’s granddaughter was also in the bed of the pickup, but was not injured, he said.
You can call Herald Writer Katherine Schiffner at 425-339-3436 or send e-mail to schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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