Update: Toddler remains in pediatric ICU after hit-and-run

KENT, WA – A 3-year-old girl is being treated for collapsed lungs, an injury to her liver, and a broken pelvic bone after a Kent man ran her over with his pickup truck.

The incident happened on the 19800 block of Southeast 281st Street on Aug. 25. The 26-year-old driver ran over the three-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy as they were sitting inside their plastic Barbie Jeep toy. He then fled the scene. The boy received minor injuries and only spent one night at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The girl remains in the intensive care unit.

The 26-year-old, Tyler Scott Gradin, is suspected of DUI. According to the Kent Reporter, Gradin admitted to drinking a pint of vodka before getting behind the wheel. Gradin said he was aware he hit the children, who were dragged under his pickup truck, but he did not render aid out of fear of being arrested.

Police located Gradin at his parents’ home 15 minutes after the accident occurred.

Gradin is currently being held at the King County Correctional Facility awaiting trial.

Have you or a loved one been affected by the negligence of a truck driver in Kent? If so, you should get in contact with a lawyer that focuses on truck accidents in Kent from Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers now.