Traffic death raises new questions
JUANITA
When Todd Evans left his home shortly after 6 a.m. Monday to walk to Juanita High School, it was dark and raining hard. He had made that walk, a little more than a mile, every morning since he'd started his sophomore year last month, hurrying to 7 o'clock band practice.
On Monday, though, the 15-year-old Evans never made it to school.
He was crossing Juanita-Woodinville Way Northeast in a marked crosswalk when a car driven by a 53-year-old Kirkland woman came from the south, heading toward Interstate 405.
The car struck Evans about 6:45 a.m., and he died that afternoon at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The accident took place seven blocks north of where Christopher Bo-Yin Lin, 18, died in a crosswalk accident a year ago, after which a Kirkland man was convicted of negligent driving.
A public rally is planned at 6 p.m. Friday at the scene of Monday's accident to focus attention on pedestrian safety.
Yesterday, bouquets, candles and photos of Evans had been placed by friends at the intersection where 108th Avenue Northeast, Juanita-Woodinville Way Northeast and Northeast 143rd Place come together.
His parents, Richard and Janet Evans, his twin brother, Kyle, and his younger brother, Owen, 8, tried to cope with the death as friends and relatives filled the living room of their home two blocks west of the accident scene.
What people recalled were memories of a talented young man who was enjoying life.
"Todd had such presence. He had such a talent for making people feel good," said Lani Brockman, artistic director at Studio East, a Kirkland theater group where Evans had been taking part in plays and other activities for nearly five years. "This was his home away from home. This was his passion."
Brockman recalled that she'd seen Evans on Saturday night at Studio East's annual auction when he had been part of the presentation, serving food, acting on stage and goofing around.
"I remember him coming up and saying, `Can you put some glitter on me?' " said Brockman, and so she'd swirled some glittery makeup on Evans and other kids, and everyone had laughed.
Evans' resume at Studio East, where he'd been in more than a half-dozen plays, lists juggling, singing tenor, having a ham-radio license, playing the tuba and trombone, bicycling and speaking with an Irish accent among his accomplishments.
The stretch of road where Lin and Evans were killed does have features that enhance pedestrian safety: landscaped median islands, sidewalks, bike lanes and marked crosswalks. Two signs tell southbound drivers that the speed limit on the road is 40 mph, but no signs announce that limit to northbound drivers.
A full traffic signal is at Northeast 145th Street, two blocks north, and numerous signs on both sides of the road warn of a 20-mile-an-hour speed limit when children are present.
King County sheriff's deputies said speed was not a factor in Monday's accident. The driver's identity has not been made public.
King County traffic engineer Paulette Norman said conditions along the road were reviewed after last year's accident, and the study found the 40-mph limit generally appropriate for conditions.
Monday's accident stunned Suzanne Lin, however, who is still trying to cope with the death of her son.
"I was just in total shock," she said. "How could this happen again?
"The problem is the people who are trying to barrel down the street, they don't even notice the crosswalks. Everyone we've talked to down there says how dangerous it is. You have to have two kids killed now before they do anything about it?"
King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart noted that crosswalks can be deceptive.
"People think that a crosswalk is magic," he said. "It gives a false sense of security."
Peyton Whitely's phone message number is 206-464-2259. His e-mail address is pwhitely@seattletimes.com.
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Service
A memorial service for Todd Evans will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Bellevue First United Methodist Church, 1934 108th Ave. N.E.