Skyway hit-and-run victim officially identified
In a statement posted on its Web site, KING-TV in Seattle said Hahn, originally from Seoul, Korea, was the mother of TV news reporter Elisa Hahn. She also is survived by another daughter who lives in Paris.
Just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, Heja Clare Hahn, who lived in a retirement community in Skyway, was struck by a red vehicle, possibly a Ford Bronco, as she tried to cross from the north to south side of South 129th Street, said King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart. Hahn, who was not in a crosswalk, was pushed into eastbound lanes where a second car swerved to miss her; a third vehicle, a red, four-door Buick, then ran over her. None of the drivers stopped.
Anyone with information is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at 206-296-3311.
Smoke spotted in unit; three children found alone
A maintenance worker at a Capitol Hill apartment building discovered three young children apparently left alone in a unit where a small fire started yesterday afternoon.
Just after 3 p.m., Seattle firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm in the 100 block of 20th Avenue East, said Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick. Before firefighters arrived, the worker spotted smoke coming from a unit and used his master key to enter it; inside, he found the three children in a bedroom and was able to get them out of the apartment, she said.
The fire, which started when a lamp fell onto a bed in another bedroom, was quickly extinguished and caused minimal damage, Fitzpatrick said.
The children — twin 4-year-old boys and a 2-year-old girl — weren't hurt but were taken to Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center as a precaution; there, they were put into the custody of Child Protective Services (CPS), said Seattle police spokeswoman Debra Brown.
A woman later called police, saying she was the children's mother and had left them in the care of her 16-year-old sister; as of last night, police had not found the teenage baby-sitter, Brown said. CPS and Seattle police are investigating.
Head-on collision closes Ballard Bridge
A head-on collision yesterday afternoon sent one woman to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries and closed the Ballard Bridge for several hours.
At 4:18 p.m., a passer-by called 911 to report a three-car accident on the Ballard Bridge, said Seattle police spokeswoman Debra Brown. A woman driving northbound on 15th Avenue Northwest crossed the center line into southbound traffic on the bridge, sideswiping one vehicle before crashing into another head-on, Brown said.
It was unclear whether the drivers of the other two vehicles were injured, but Brown said only the woman was taken to Harborview.
Traffic was diverted as accident investigators worked into the night, Brown said. No other details were immediately available.
Man's body found in Auburn; homicide ruled out
A man's body was found in a field in the 1400 block of A Street yesterday afternoon, but police think he died of natural causes — and that he may have been involved in a hit-and-run accident earlier in the day.
A man looking at real estate called 911 around 2 p.m. to report seeing a body, said Auburn police spokeswoman Cheryl Price. She said the man's death is not being investigated as a homicide.
Though she wouldn't go into detail, Price said items found in the man's pocket could be related to items found in an old model Monte Carlo, abandoned after striking a fence in the 1000 block of Auburn Way South around 6:30 a.m. Accident witnesses reported seeing two men leave the vehicle.
North Cascade Highway hit by avalanche
Inches of new snow and warm temperatures triggered a noon-time avalanche yesterday that covered the North Cascades Highway below Liberty Bell Mountain, just east of Washington Pass.
No one was hurt in the 6-foot deep-by-30-foot-wide slide, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Jeff Adamson. Thirty-six miles of Highway 20 were closed all day, beginning seven miles east of Diablo Dam to 14 miles west of Mazama.
Crews will inspect chutes above Liberty Bell this morning to determine whether they're stable enough to allow the highway to reopen, Adamson said.
If the area gets more snow and temperatures remain warm, the highway could be closed for the winter season because of the avalanche danger, he said.
Boys' murder trial in Ephrata delayed over review
A judge has delayed the trial for two boys accused of killing a Ephrata boy to allow the state Supreme Court to decide whether to review the decision to try them as adults.
Jake Lee Eakin and Evan Drake Savoie, both 14, are accused in the 2003 slaying of Craig Sorger, a special-education student beaten and stabbed repeatedly. Eakin, of Moses Lake, and Savoie, of Ephrata, have been charged as adults with first-degree murder.
Their trial was to begin Jan. 10, but was rescheduled Monday to April 12 by Grant Count Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen.
State Supreme Court Commissioner Geoff Crooks is expected to hear oral arguments Jan. 20 on whether the full court should review another judge's decision to try the boys as adults.
23-year-old fatally hit on Aurora Avenue North
A 23-year-old woman died this morning after she was hit by a car at North 115th Street and Aurora Avenue North.
At 7:20 a.m. the woman ran across Aurora illegally and was hit when a driver in the southbound lanes apparently didn't see her, said police spokesman Scott Moss.
Moss said the woman was not crossing at a crosswalk. He said the driver who hit her is not at fault.
Teenager is arrested after man is attacked in Edmonds
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attacking a 64-year-old Edmonds man Monday night.
Police say Richard Alseth, 64, was backing out of his driveway in the 9500 block of 224th Street Southwest when he accidentally cut off a vehicle, forcing it to skid and swerve, said police Sgt. Jeff Jones.
Alseth and the boy got out of their cars and argued. The boy then began punching Alseth, knocking him to the ground, Jones said.
After the attack the teen drove away. The two passengers in the teen's car said the boy got angry when Alseth pulled out in front of their vehicle. The boy has been booked into the Denney Youth Center on suspicion of assault.
Alseth is in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center.
Times staff and news services