Twisted hulks give silent testimony

  • Julie Muhlstein / Herald Columnist
  • Saturday, May 4, 2002 9:00pm
  • Local News

He calls it the bullpen. It has nothing to do with livestock or baseball. The fence behind the Washington State Patrol office north of Marysville corrals wrecked cars.

It’s dead quiet except for the occasional song of a bird and the hum of I-5 traffic.

Curt Ladines, a detective with the patrol’s traffic investigation division, walks me through the vehicle graveyard. He speaks for those who can’t.

"See that truck?" he said, pointing out an orange Chevy with a flattened cab. "A 19-year-old from east Snohomish County was killed. He was coming home with a friend from a party. He loses control, hits a telephone pole, the kid is ejected. We think there was racing or some horsing around, but without a confession, nothing."

Ladines is one of four detectives in the patrol’s District 7 office, covering Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom and Island counties. He investigates felony cases, including vehicular assaults and vehicular homicides.

In his office are accident reconstruction drawings, highly technical graphics used in court. The tidy diagrams show road configurations, skid marks and directions and angles in which vehicles were traveling when something occurred — something split-second, something deadly.

Outside in the bullpen, nothing is tidy.

The back end of a white Honda is crumpled like paper. "There were three Eastern Europeans in the car, going 95 to 100 miles an hour," Ladines said. "All three were ejected; one died."

"This red T-Bird, the mom and the grandma were killed on Highway 92, the man had been drinking. He pleaded out to a DUI. We couldn’t get vehicular homicide."

He stopped at a late-model truck with a whole side gone and described a pending vehicular homicide case. "It was under I-405 in a construction zone. The truck hit a dumpster there for construction, and the cab was opened up like a can opener. That driver had been drinking."

"In this one, a brother killed a brother," he said, looking at a Honda severed in half. "It was on Highway 203 in the Monroe area. They hit a pole, it split apart, very high speeds."

Ladines pointed out "head strikes," the spider-web patterns on shattered windshields. "If you look closely, sometimes you see hair," he said. I did not look closely. I did notice an old latex glove in a mangled car, possibly tossed at the scene by a paramedic.

Cars still contain all sorts of things, from beverage cups to blankets, that have the look about them of folks going their ordinary ways. These objects show the humanity and vulnerability of people who may believe they’re invulnerable as they rocket down the road. It’s a powerful feeling to go 70 mph with the radio blasting. But impact reduces steel and glass to fragments.

"I think this would be good for driver’s education," Ladines said. "This being evidence, it’s sacred. But I could show kids these cars and just how fragile the human body is.

"When kids get their driver’s license, it’s freedom they’ve never had before. Where you go, the speed you go, it’s determined by you. It’s a huge responsibility," said Ladines, allowing that when he was in college, "I got into cars with drunk drivers."

Now, having witnessed so much, this father of a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old said, "I’ve told my wife they’re just not going to drive."

Last week we read about the traffic tragedy that killed 16-year-old Georgia Pemberton the night of her Lake Stevens High School prom. A Bellevue man has been arrested, and road rage may be involved.

In this season of proms and graduations, the wrecked-car bullpen is a sobering reminder that it’s not just teen-agers who are injured or who hurt others. It’s not just prom season. It’s driving season.

"Summer is busier," Ladines said. "There’s more drinking. People are out. The weather is better, they drive faster, they’re not as careful."

I’ll tell you this. Seeing those cars, I hardly wanted to turn the key in mine. I am more careful.

Ladines dreads Monday mornings. "I hate those calls, family members trying to understand why.

"Death gets to me," he said. "I wake up at night."

Contact Julie Muhlstein via e-mail at muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com, write to her at The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206, or call 425-339-3460.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Firefighters respond to a 911 call on July 16, 2024, in Mill Creek. Firefighters from South County Fire, Tulalip Bay Fire Department and Camano Island Fire and Rescue left Wednesday to help fight the LA fires. (Photo provided by South County Fire)
Help is on the way: Snohomish County firefighters en route to LA fires

The Los Angeles wildfires have caused at least 180,000 evacuations. The crews expect to arrive Friday.

x
Edmonds police shooting investigation includes possibility of gang violence

The 18-year-old victim remains in critical condition as of Friday morning.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River. Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council approves water, sewer rate increases

The 43% rise in combined water and sewer rates will pay for large infrastructure projects.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.