Lakewood Hit and Run Critically Injures Mary Healey | Seattle Car Crash Lawyer

Blog Categories:

As a Seattle car accident attorney, I find hit-and-run accidents disturbing. They vividly illustrate that man’s self-preservation instinct continues even when it comes at the direct cost of another person’s life. Fleeing the scene of the
crime to keep oneself from getting arrested also means leaving behind someone who is injured and may need a ride to the hospital, which is both illegal and immoral. One might be able to hide from the police temporarily, but he or she
cannot run from the guilt of having possibly killed another person.

At 7:30 P.M. on July 24^th, 23-year-old Yoni Valencia was driving northbound on Bridgeport Bay. According to Lieutenant Dave Guttu of Lakewood police, Valencia was having a heated text conversation with his mother and was not paying attention to the road ahead. He came up quickly on the back of a car and swerved to avoid it, losing control of his vehicle. Valencia then drove up onto the sidewalk and into a 76 gas station, where he struck 50-year-old Mary Healey’s SUV. The SUV in turn pinned Healey to a gas pump, nearly severing her right foot.

The victim’s condition was stabilized by an Army medic who was on the scene. Valencia ran from his car, but thankfully was caught later thanks to identification help of numerous witnesses. Pierce County prosecutors charged him with a felony hit-and-run, vehicular assault, driving with a suspended license, and obstructing a police officer. Valencia pleaded not guilty, but told Lakewood police that he ran because he was on probation and didn’t want to go back to jail. Now, it is very likely face an even greater punishment for his hit-and-run behavior. Harborview Medical Center is still attempting to save Healey’s foot.

For information regarding Washington State’s hit-and-run laws, click here.