ARLINGTON — The King County Medical Examiner on Monday identified a 12-year-old girl who died Friday after she fell out of the bed of a pickup truck as Melissa Olson of Arlington.
She died of a skull fracture, the medical examiner said.
She had been standing up in the bed of a pickup driven by a friend’s grandmother when the truck rounded a corner and she fell, Stillaguamish tribal police said. The woman’s granddaughter also was in the back of the pickup, but was uninjured.
"We were waiting for the results of Snohomish County traffic investigators’ analysis of the scene," Police Chief Felix Moran said. "It’s been referred to the tribal prosecutor."
The crash occurred about 5 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Stoluckquamish Lane and Che Che Yel Place.
The driver is under investigation for second-degree manslaughter under tribal law, Moran said. The maximum sentence she could face is six months in jail and a $500 fine, he said.
"This was an accident that was due to something that wasn’t real bright," he said.
The serious charge is being considered because the girl was under the care of an adult and was not wearing a wearing a seat belt, and the fact that she died, Moran said.
Olson is not a tribal member.
The case has been referred to the Northwest Intertribal Court System.
Mental evaluation ordered: An Arlington man who is charged with trying to hire a man to kill his former wife and her family will undergo a mental evaluation by staff of Western State Hospital near Tacoma, a judge has ordered.
Mitchell Lee Varnell, 40, is being held on $2.5 million bail for allegedly trying to hire a hit man in February. His attorney, James White of Edmonds, asked for the evaluation, said John Stansell, deputy prosecutor. Stansell said whenever either side says such an evaluation will help the court, state law requires it.
The evaluation will be done at the Snohomish County Jail, Stansell said.
Varnell’s trial date is set for June 21. Stansell said he doesn’t know if the evaluation will mean a postponement.
From Herald staff reports
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