Local youth hit by car in street

Published 10:55 am Thursday, October 2, 2008

A 12-year-old boy was hit by a car while crossing North Bend Way at the cross walk near Southeast Orchard Street last Tuesday at 3:25 p.m. Andrew Ortegon, a student at Snoqualmie Middle School, was returning to his apartment home across from the 76 gas station on West North Bend Way when he was struck by an eastbound 1994 Volvo driven by a 53-year-old North Bend woman.

“We don’t believe alcohol or drugs were a factor,” said Sgt. John Urqhart, public information officer for the King County Sheriff’s Office, who noted excessive speed was also not at the root of the accident.

The woman has not been charged; authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident.

Ortegon suffered a concussion and was rushed to Overlake Hospital Medical Center by ambulance. He returned home later that evening and is still recovering.

The crosswalk has been the site of many injuries and one fatality in the past as pedestrians are often hard to see due to the rocks and signs that divide the crosswalk into two sections.