DUI suspect strikes two kids riding in Barbie Jeep before fleeing, Washington cops say
A 26-year-old man suspected of driving under the influence struck two children riding in a toy car Monday, according to Washington police.
The incident happened in Kent, which is around 20 miles south of Seattle.
The pickup truck driver struck a 5-year-old and 2-year-old who were riding in a “battery-powered Barbie Jeep,” the King County Sheriff’s Office posted on Twitter. His truck “swerved off the street, veered into a mailbox and hit them,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said, according to the Seattle Times.
The driver, whose name has not been released, fled but was caught a half mile away, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies found the man trying to free the toy car away from underneath his truck, the Seattle Times reported.
Both children were taken to a Seattle hospital, the sheriff said. A girl is in serious condition and a boy has “non-life threatening injuries,” according to KIRO.
“The driver was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence and two counts of vehicular assault,” KIRO reported.
The incident remains under investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
