A morning crash on Interstate 405 in Bothell claimed the life of a 14-year-old driver and injured three other teens, authorities reported yesterday. The fatal accident, involving a single vehicle, occurred just before 2 a.m. near State Route 527, according to the Washington State Patrol per KING 5. The four teenagers were traveling northbound when their 2013 Honda CR-V veered off the road, striking a guardrail before coming to rest down an embankment.
The driver, a 14-year-old boy, was pronounced dead at the scene, confirmed by Washington State Patrol. He was wearing a seatbelt. The passengers, consisting of a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl, and another 15-year-old, sustained injuries and were taken to Evergreen Hospital for treatment. "All fatality collisions are hard to be at someone has lost their life we have to do a next of kin notification to the family that their loved one is not coming home but when you get to the point where it’s people that are so young and their just starting out their lives it makes it that much harder," Trooper Kelsey Harding stated in a interview with KOMO News.
The crash forced the closure of three northbound lanes on I-405 for several hours as investigators worked the scene. The Washington State Department of Transportation later announced that the lanes had reopened around 5 a.m. Linked to the ongoing inquiry, officials noted that the young driver did not possess a driver's license or permit. As per Washington state law, the minimum age to hold a driver's license is 16, while permits require the holder to be at least 15 years old, revealed Trooper Harding.
Further details on whether the teens were under the influence or the circumstances leading up to the tragic crash remain unclear. The first 911 call following the incident was reportedly triggered automatically by the collision, as per Washington State Patrol. “I don’t know the case of why they were in the vehicle or anything like that but even if they did take a vehicle without permission again whatever the case is I’m not sure in this instance but no one deserves to lose their life and it’s awful that you have to let a parent know that they lost their child," said Trooper Harding, according to KIRO7. The Washington State Patrol has confirmed that the car the teens were in was not reported as stolen, and the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
