Kirkland Police: Young child struck, killed by vehicle in Safeway parking lot



KIRKLAND, Wash. -- A 3-year-old boy was hit and killed by a vehicle in the Safeway parking lot in Kirkland Thursday afternoon.

Kirkland Police said it happened about 12:30 p.m. at the Safeway at 10020 NE 137th St. Lt. Rob Saloum said emergency crews tried to help the child, but he died at the scene of the crash.

Officials said in a release that it appears the child ran out from between parked vehicles prior to being hit. The vehicle was traveling slowly when it hit him.

Investigators said the woman who caused the crash said she did not see the child but stopped when she felt she hit something in the parking lot. It is not believed that intoxication is a factor in the incident, according to police.

The parking lot is shared by multiple businesses and witnesses told Q13 News it’s usually a busy place.

Stori Vickers said she saw the child on the ground shortly after the accident.

“He was surrounded, they were holding up IV’s and just trying anything,” she said.

Police said the boy died at the scene.

“You go through these parking lots all the time and it just takes a split second for somebody to pull out,” said Saloum. “So, be cautious.”

“We were just holding our son that much closer because it could be anybody,” said Vickers.

“The Kirkland Police Department, Kirkland Fire Department, and the City of Kirkland, would like to express our deepest sympathies to the boy’s family,” Saloum said in a press release.

Investigators say the driver is cooperating with police