by Greg Wright

The King County Sheriff’s Office, through whom Burien contracts its police services, issued the following statement on Monday:

A 13 year-old Burien girl was injured yesterday (August 7th) after she was struck by a pick-up truck about 7:15 PM. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.

The accident occurred when the girl, her sister, and a friend were all crossing Ambaum Blvd in a marked crosswalk at SW 154th. The driver of a 1990 Ford Ranger was northbound on Ambaum and apparently didn’t see the pedestrians.

The victim was just ahead of the other two in the crosswalk and she was the only one hit.

The driver is a 52 year-old man from Burien. He was not booked into jail or cited pending additional investigation.

Detectives believe alcohol on the part of the driver may have been a contributing factor to the accident.

An early report by KOMO News quoted Sgt. John Hall as saying the driver of the vehicle had been “arrested for investigation of vehicular assault.”    Yesterday, KIRO TV added that, although the driver was initially taken into custody, he “hasn’t been booked into jail or cited, pending further investigation by police.”

Late last night, KOMO’s Ray Lane added the following:

Detectives estimate the driver was going about 45 miles per hour – possibly faster – when he slammed into [the girl] on Sunday. Whitney [Sellers], who was walking across busy Ambaum Boulevard with her younger sister and cousin at the time, was thrown by the impact and landed some 25 feet away.

Deputies took the driver into custody, but he has not been arrested.

“It makes me angry,” said [mother Jennifer] Shields. “And I definitely would want to see something happen.”

The family has been told that results of blood-alcohol tests, which will help make decision about possible charges, will take two to three weeks. But the family wants to know why the man is allowed to roam free in the meantime, especially as Whitney lies in the hospital in pain.

“If he, in fact, was drinking and driving, that’s my biggest thing,” said Shields. “I would never want this to happen to anybody else.”

Detectives have also told the family they’re looking into whether a medical situation could have also been a factor in the crash.

According to Lane, the family reports that Jennifer is scheduled to undergo a “series of surgeries” today.

“It’ll probably be a couple months before she can try to learn how to walk again,” said mother Jennifer Shields.

Whitney’s pelvis is shattered in five places. Her hip is broken. There’s a pin in one of her knees, and her chin is fractured.

A call to King County’s Sgt. John Urquhart this morning confirmed that there have been no new developments in either citation, charges, or arrest.  Urquhart emphasized that any new developments will be weeks in coming.

The 16-year old Burien girl who was accused of using her pit bull Snaps “like a weapon” against two women in SeaTac on June 21st was sentenced to 14 months in a juvenile detention center Thursday morning (Oct. 22nd).

The suspect, who is not being named because she is underage, had trained her pit bull to attack, according to charging papers (read our June 22nd report here). She plead guilty last month to second-degree assault, third-degree assault and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

Thursday she apologized in court in front of the victims, saying she needed treatment for anger management and substance abuse.

Court documents (view/download PDF here) allege that the female suspect and a group of three White Center boys were found abusing the animal on June 21st before the two women were attacked by the dog. One, a 63-year old woman, was assaulted by the girl before being bit on the thigh and hand by the pit bull.

Another female victim, 41, was attacked by the dog while the girl assaulted her, punching her in the face and knocking her to the ground, according to King County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart. She was severely mauled on both arms and required surgery at Harborview Medical Center.

Prosecutors did not file charges against the three boys.

As we previously reported, “Snaps,” the pit bull was seized by King County Animal Care and Control, and at one point was close to being euthanized, but was released in September and is now living peacefully at the Olympic Animal Sanctuary in Forks.

Here’s a Before and After pic of “Snaps” showing his current disposition at his new home:

The girl (whose identity remains unreleased due to her age), plead guilty to manslaughter Thursday, and will serve less than three years in state juvenile detention after being sentenced Oct. 21st in King County Juvenile Court.

Prosecutors say information emerged that the girl may have been attacked or threatened.

The 49-year-old man, Francisco Pena, was stabbed in the chest in April at his home near Kent, after hiring the girl as a prostitute.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We're posting this story because cancer has touched our lives in more than one way, and BTB always strives to help and serve its community. Plus...come on – it's for a sick little girl...]

This Sunday, Sept. 21st, from 2:30-5:30pm, a benefit party will be held at Seattle Lutheran School in West Seattle (map below) for a sick little girl named Cora (photo at left), a pre-schooler who lives near White Center.

Cora was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor, which is a cancerous tumor that blew out one of her kidneys. She had the tumor and the affected kidney removed in late June and has been having weekly chemotherapy treatments since. The prognosis is good, but she will get chemo through December to be certain they got all of the cancer.

The benefit is to help pay for Cora’s medical bills.

Cora, Cupcakes, a Clown, need we say more?

WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 21st, from 2:30-5:30pm

WHERE: Seattle Lutheran High School Gymnasium, 4141 41st Ave SW
West Seattle, WA 98116

There will also be a silent auction with lots of tempting items, as well as “Team Cora” t-shirts for sale.

View Larger Map

Deputies were called to the man’s home on Tuesday to check on him, said sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart. Deputies found the man dead in his garage, with apparent stab wounds.

Investigators tested fingerprints on a knife found near the man’s body and the print came back to the girl, Urquhart said.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating the slaying, but is still trying to identify the man.

The girl, who is being held at the King County Youth Service Center, has had “numerous contacts” with police in the past, including an arrest for prostitution, Urquhart said.

She was arrested on Thursday.

SOURCE:

• The Seattle Times

Here she is singing the Michael Jackson love song to a rat “Ben“:

Click here to view the embedded video.