According to the King County Sheriff’s Department, a 64-year old SeaTac man was critically injured when homemade fireworks exploded Sunday night (July 4), sending him to Harborview Medical Center.
Police say that a 52 year-old resident of a house in the 2800 block of South 138th Street built a homemade “aerial device” by tying together a bundle of sparklers. He placed the sparklers in a tube, and then into a concrete cinder block to brace it. When the man lit off the “rocket’, it exploded in place, sending pieces of the concrete block in all directions.
The 64-year old victim was standing about 15 to 20 feet away when the device detonated. He was hit in the head by part of the cinder block, causing a serious head injury, which, according to the fire department, was life-threatening.
Other pieces of the block struck a nearby car, denting the door and breaking the window. The house and the garage door were also hit.
Both men live at the residence, as does the victim’s adult daughter. No one else was injured.
The Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Bomb Disposal Unit are investigating.
No arrests have yet been made and the investigation is continuing.
The King County Sheriff’s Department says that a 23 year-old Des Moines man was killed this morning when his car left the roadway and struck a tree in White Center early Thursday morning (June 10).
He died shortly after he was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
The incident happened about 1:15am, and witnesses reported seeing the man leave the Mt. View Elementary School parking lot at a high rate of speed. The school is located in White Center at SW 108th and 12th Ave SW.
When the vehicle got to the 800 block of SW 108th it crossed over into the westbound lane, where it struck a raised curb and a large tree. The collision caused massive damage to the left front of the car, a 1995 Ford Explorer.
No other vehicles were involved in the collision, and the man’s identity has not yet been released.
Detectives believe alcohol was a contributing factor.
Free skiing professional Arne Backstrom, 29, a Normandy Park native and frequent skier at Crystal Mountain, has apparently been killed after a big-mountain fall in Peru.
According to a report on www.freeskier.com, the accident occurred Thursday (June 3) on Pisco Mountain in the Cordillera Blanca region of Peru, South America.
According to an email from his friend Josh Weiner, Arne grew up in Normandy Park, and attended Marvista Elementary and then Sylvester Middle School. He graduated from Highline High School in 1999 and then went on to attend Whitman College in Walla Walla.
Josh says that Arne also worked at the Normandy Park Swim Club in the summers was an outstanding athlete who swam for the same pool and at Highline.
He was also apparently an Eagle Scout with troop 392 at John Knox Presbyterian Church.
Photo from Arne's Facebook page.
“Too much to mention at once, he was an amazing guy,” Josh added in an email.
Arne’s sister, Ingrid, is considered by many to be the world’s best women’s free skier. His brother, Ralph, is a professional snowboarder.
The following excerpts are from Arne Backstrom’s biography at www.patagonia.com:
During my earlier ski days, my family rolled up to the mountains in a rusty brown 1954 GMC bookmobile. It was a grotesque machine in both looks and mechanics, but every Friday night from December to April, that neurotic old vehicle delivered our family of five the 100 miles from Seattle to Crystal Mountain and provided lodging for the weekend. My sister and brother and I would sit at the table/bed in the back and Mom gripped the dash from the co-pilot position while Dad worked the shifter and struggled to manage 26,000 lbs of momentum with less than adequate brakes. It was an eyesore, scary to drive, cold, and smelled funny, but when it snowed two feet we laughed and said it was paradise. It wasn’t luxury living, but it brought the family together, and we skied hard. I probably wouldn’t have wished it back then, but those days seem to have set the tone for my life thus far, at least in spirit. I still do whatever it takes to ski as much as I can.
After some years of tearing around the mountain finding secret trails and powder stashes, I began racing at 11. It was the logical next step and provided speed and adrenaline and taught me to push the limits. I enjoyed the competition, and the discipline was good, but I was still out freeskiing as much as possible, and I poached the “snowboard park” on occasion, too. I ski raced through college, and then with some hard-earned summer cash, took off to Europe and succeeded in spending a serious amount of time on snow, racking up lots of vertical in big terrain. Since then, the thought of a “real” job has been less and less attractive, and when winter comes around I put everything else aside.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes video of Arne from a Warren Miller film:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MWgnwxzpLc[/youtube]
Here’s one of Arne shot in Revelstoke in January:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC_8_Mxkyu4[/youtube]
Some links of interest:
- Interesting story on the Backstrom family here.
- Arne had a blog here.
- Arne’s Facebook page is here.
- Facebook tribute page is here.
Our condolences go out to Arne’s family and friends.
| May |
| 6 |
| 6:00 pm |
Story & Photos by Scott Schaefer
When a spouse dies, the surviving partner is called a “widow” or “widower.”
But what can one possibly call a parent whose young child dies a terrible, tragic death?
The grief one must feel when ones’ own child dies tragically is so incredibly severe there really can be no name for it, so we’ll just leave it as that – unnameable.
Such is the case with Dermot Owens, longtime Manager and bartender at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub in Burien. His grief is most certainly unnameable now, as he lost his five-year old son Shea in a tragic accident when he was run over by Dermot’s SUV at their home in Newcastle last Friday (April 16).
“What a great Father he was,” said Mick Purdy, co-owner of Mick Kelly’s, and Dermot’s boss. “We all saw Shea grow up right here, running around the place. To have this tragedy happen is just unbelievable. We’re all in a state of shock…”
UPDATE: There will be a benefit concert for Dermot at Mick Kelly’s on Thursday, May 6th starting at 6:00pm, with live music and a raffle to raise money so Dermot can take time to be with his friends and family.
The Burien branch of Key Bank (655 Southwest 152nd Street • 206-241-9348) has set up an account called “The Little Shea Memorial Fund” where people can donate to help fund Shea’s funeral, which will be held this Thursday (April 22) at 11am at St. Mary’s Church (611 20th Avenue South, Seattle), with a wake afterwards at the Glen Acres Golf Course (call Mick Kelly’s for more details: 206-246-2473).
Also, here are other ways to help Dermot and his family out:
- Donate using PayPal: Click here to donate directly to the memorial fund online.
You can also make a cash or check donation in person at:
- Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Burien
- Mick Kelly’s at Full Throttle Bar & Grill in Renton
- A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub in Renton
- The Celtic Swell Pub & Restaurant on Alki in West Seattle
Donations will be used to pay for Shea’s service as well as for the Father’s time off from work. You can donate at any Key Bank location.
Here’s a Photo Slideshow of the memorial by Scott Schaefer (be sure your speakers are turned on):
Click to Play Scott Schaefer’s SoundSlideshow
KING5.com is reporting that a diver ran into trouble Sunday morning while diving at Des Moines’ Redondo Beach.
According to the report, the diver, a 50-year old Spokane woman, is in critical condition after her mask started filling with water when she was 50-feet below the surface. She apparently couldn’t get the air regulator in her mouth, and she then made a quick ascent up with her instructor, who also happens to be her boyfriend.
When she was rescued from the water she was breathing but not conscious. An aid crew could not detect a pulse and began CPR, and she was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.
Read the full story here.
According to the King County Sheriff’s Department, a fiery car crash early Wednesday morning (Sept. 23rd) claimed the lives of three people in SeaTac when the car they were in ran off the road, slammed into a building and burst into flames.
The deadly accident occurred around 3:30am, along 8th Ave South by South 192nd Street near Sea-Tac Airport (see map below), according to Sgt. John Urquhart. The three victims were the only occupants in the car, and likely won’t be identified for another day or two.
According to Urquhart, speed was a factor in the fatal crash.
The car was apparently driving south at high speeds on 8th Ave South near South 192nd when it crossed the center line, hit a support cable next to a utility pole, careened through some brush, struck a tree and then a building, where it caught fire and burned, killing the occupants inside, Urquhart said.
Urquhart added that there was no evidence yet that the crash was the result of street racing, which has been a problem in the area recently.
Here’s a photo taken by Janet Grella Wednesday afternoon of flowers placed where the accident occurred:
According to KING-TV, a scuba diver was killed in an accident at Redondo Beach Sunday afternoon (June 28th).
Des Moines police say that a Tukwila man, around 60-years old, was diving with a friend off shore in waters about 80 feet deep when he went into distress. His buddy was unable to bring him to the surface.
Another diver helped bring the man up and the two tried to revive him, but they were unsuccessful.
The diver’s identity has not yet been released.
A King County Sheriff’s deputy was seriously injured in a rollover crash early Friday morning as he was speeding along Des Moines Memorial Way near 17th Place South.
According to the report, the officer was racing to a burglary call in White Center around 2:15am when he lost control of the vehicle and rolled down a 20-foot embankment in the 10000 block of Des Moines Memorial Way. When the deputy’s car went off the roadway it took down a part of the cyclone fence along the edge of the sidewalk. One of the fence rails went through the vehicle windshield and impaled the shoulder harness the deputy was wearing. The harness ended up around the deputy’s neck and he was unconscious when found.
The deputy, age 30, has been with the Sheriff’s Office for just over 1½ years. He is assigned to the City of Burien.
Three residents nearby ran to the accident after hearing the crash, and a passing deputy in route to the same White Center call stopped. They were able to pull out the smashed windshield and pole, likely saving the life of the deputy.
It took the fire department about ½ hour to extradite the deputy from his vehicle, and they had to cut off the top of the car to do so. He was taken to Harborview Hospital and is in serious but stable condition.
The deputy’s name has not yet been relaeased, and the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
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