Story by Matt Wendland, Burien Daily

A four-year-old Burien boy is still in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after being struck by a moving vehicle in a hit and run accident in north Burien Thursday evening, August 15.

According to Detective Jason Stanley of the King County Sheriff's Department, a vehicle traveling north on 4th Ave S.W. near the intersection of S.W. 126th St. struck the victim around 8:25 p.m.

Police said the victim was attending a family gathering at a home on the 12400 block of 4th Ave S.W. in the care of his aunt and uncle. Moments before the accident, the victim's uncle was transferring a carseat from a vehicle parked in front of the house on the east side of the road to another parked vehicle on the west side of the road in order to drive his nephew to meet the boy's parents. The saw seen his uncle across the street and ran from the yard into oncoming traffic where he was struck. Witnesses told police the boy was thrown into the air and flipped several times before landing on the pavement.

According to Sergeant Hall of the Burien Police Department, one of the first officers on the scene, witnesses reported that the driver who struck the child pulled over to the east side of 4th Ave S.W. , then fled the scene heading north moments later. Police do not believe the driver was speeding or driving erratically before the accident, and may not have been at fault, but is now wanted for questioning and for fleeing the scene of an accident.

Many initial reports claimed the police were looking for a "Honda Accord or Civic", but according to Sergeant Hall, witnesses described a late model white vehicle with a "boxy tail end" that could be a Honda or Nissan sedan, possibly a 90's model Nissan Sentra. The vehicle is believed to have sustained significant front-end damage in the accident.

Emergency responders arrived on the scene moments after the accident and began treating the child. He was soon transported on King County Medic One to Harborview Medical Center with severe injuries. The boy's parents, who arrived on the scene shortly after the accident, were brought to Harborview by an officer of the King County Sheriff's Department.

According to a neighbor who was interviewed the day following the accident and who asked that she remain anonymous said:

"Cars race up and down this street everyday... It was only a matter of time before an accident like this happened. People need to be more careful when driving through neighborhoods around here. My partner has almost been hit a number of times while riding his bike to his office and it's always been by someone who isn't paying attention when making a turn or talking on their cellphone when pulling out from an intersection. If you want to drive fast, take 509… At the same time, when it starts to get dark like it was last night when he was hit, it would be easy to not see a little kid like that in the road. This is a real tragedy."

Police are asking anyone who believes they may have witnessed this accident or have information about the driver and vehicle involved in the hit and run to contact the King County Sheriff's Department by calling 206.296.3311.

The King County Sheriff's Office Major Accident Response and Reconstruction detectives are now investigating the collision.

While the four-year-old victim remains in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center, police report that the family is expecting him to make a full recovery.