Elderly Mercer Island Woman Seriously Injured In Car-Pedestrian Accident

MERCER ISLAND, WA - Two elderly residents were injured - one seriously - in a vehicle-pedestrian accident that occurred Sunday night at the intersection of 78th Ave Southeast and Southeast 32nd Street, police say.

The incident Sunday night was the third vehicle-pedestrian accident since Nov 30.

On Sunday, a man and a woman, both in their 70s, were crossing the intersection at 4:30 p.m. The driver apparently did not see the pedestrians and drove into them. The woman suffered "very serious injuries," police said. They were both taken to Harborview Medical Center. Police described the male pedestrian's injuries as "non-life threatening."

The other two incidents happened on Nov. 30. The first incident happened along the 3200 block of Island Crest Way, but the pedestrian was not injured and did not need to go to the hospital.

In the third incident, a father pushing his 2 and 4-year-old children in a stroller was struck in the intersection of Southeast 28th Street and 80th Avenue Southeast. The children were thrown from the stroller and suffered cuts and scrapes. They were taken home after the accident.

Police noted that most of the accidents happened during the evening, between 4:30 and 5 p.m., when it's dark out. Some of the pedestrians were also wearing dark clothing. Mercer Island Emergency Management Officer Jennifer Franklin is urging island residents to heed pedestrian safety tips from the Centers for Disease Control.

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