Boy hit by truck is recuperating

By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
November 27, 2009 · 2:03 PM

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A North Whidbey Middle School student who was hit by a truck at a crosswalk Nov. 23 spent Thanksgiving recuperating at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Oak Harbor Police Officer Dennis Dickinson said he spoke to Alex Snellman’s father Tuesday and the boy had just gotten out of surgery and was doing well. A Harborview spokesperson reported Friday that Snellman is in satisfactory condition.

Donald Blackburn, a 47-year-old Oak Harbor resident, was driving a 1985 GMC pickup south on Regatta Drive Monday morning. He was behind another car that turned right on Whidbey Avenue and his attention was apparently diverted to the car, so he didn’t immediately see the boy in the crosswalk, according to Officer Dickinson.

Blackburn locked up his brakes, but not in time to avoid hitting Snellman in the crosswalk. The accident occurred at about 7:30 a.m. in dark, overcast conditions, but Dickinson said other drivers who witnessed the accident — including the driver behind Blackburn — saw the boy in the crosswalk.

Snellman suffered a broken femur and broken clavicle, Dickinson said. The boy was transported to Whidbey General and then airlifted to Harborview for surgery.

While the investigation isn’t completed, Dickinson said Blackburn didn’t appear to be speeding, so he won’t face criminal charges. He could be cited for failure to yield.

Contact Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360.675.6611 ext. 5056.

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