Hit-and-run victims, families plead for answers

BURIEN, Wash. – A 23-year-old Burien man was killed in a hit-and-run early Saturday morning, while a Poulsbo woman just lost her foot from injuries in a hit-and-run incident in late December.

There has been a recent spate of hit-and-run accidents, perhaps partly due to the dark winter nights. But that still doesn't explain why drivers who accidentally hit someone decide to drive off instead of seeking help.



“I hope he’s (the Burien victim) proud of his friends coming together for him,” said Darianne Clary, the friend of hit-and-run victim Conlan McGregor, 23.

Clary lights candles at the memorial she and friends built for McGregor.

“We have a lot of memories together,” said Clary.

But McGregor was alone Saturday morning while walking along 1st Avenue South near 128th Street in Burien.

“He was walking home and he was almost there,” said Clary.

The King County Sheriff’s Office said a black Honda SUV hit and killed him. The driver fled. And now Clary is heartbroken and pleading for the driver to step forward.

“It would just be a lot easier on them if they turn themselves in because at the end of the day they’re going to have to answer to God,” said Clary.

Meanwhile, Sarah Dean is still recovering after troopers say a Dodge Dakota hit her, sending her over the guard rail while she was walking home along Highway 305 in December.

“Somehow I knew that I was down and underneath the road, which is crazy,” said Dean.

She crawled back up to the highway and waved for help until someone spotted her and called 911. She was airlifted to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries that included having to have her foot amputated. The driver is still on the loose.

“We have more walkers and bikers out, as well as cars,” said Go Redmond Community Outreach Liaison Nicole Wiebe.

With more people and cars moving into the Puget Sound, Go Redmond started an educational campaign, handing out reflectors and flashing lights to make pedestrians more visible to drivers.

“If they’re not going to have clothing on that has lighter clothing, then they need to have blinkers or reflectors, things on their backpack, on their coats, on their umbrellas, so they can be seen,” said Wiebe.

Another hit-and-run happened last Thursday. This time in Pierce County after sheriff’s deputies say a pedestrian was found with a serious head injury, not moving and barely breathing off the 10500 block of Park Avenue. Deputies found a black metal passenger-side mirror nearby, possibly from an older model truck.