Alex Hayden was a husband and father of two who Gray Magazine described as “kind, funny, creative, and a true editorial photographer” in a memorial post.
Someone driving a pickup truck struck Hayden from behind while he rode in the bike lane on Rainier Ave just south of the Seattle city limits Saturday. The person driving fled the scene, dragging his bike down the street. Hayden died Tuesday from his injuries.
Our deepest condolences to his friends and family.
The King County Sheriff’s Office says a 51-year-old woman suspected in the hit and run has turned herself in. She has not yet been charged, and the Sheriff’s Office is still searching for a passenger who was reportedly in the truck at the time of the collision.
Hayden has not yet been identified officially, but word of his death has spread quickly as people impacted by his life learned the terrible news. Friends established a GoFundMe campaign to support his family.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Hayden was biking south on Rainier Ave S in Skyway around 4:30 p.m. when the person driving the pickup struck him from behind in the 10600 block. The suspect then continued a little further before turning onto S Lakeridge Dr. Officers later found the pickup in SeaTac. A suspect was turned herself in Sunday, about 20 hours after the collision. We are not naming the suspect because charges have not yet been filed. She is in King County jail on $100,000 bail for investigation of felony hit and run.
Comments
5 responses to “Man killed while biking on Rainier Ave, suspect arrested. RIP Alex Hayden”
RIP Alex! We will miss you dearly!
As for our not to be named suspect, she had 5 DUIs and turned herself in 22 hours after the homicide. If she was twice the legal limit at the time of the murder it would take around 15-20 hours for the alcohol to leave her system.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/suspect-in-hit-and-run-turned-herself-into-authorities-repeat-dui-offender/791484958
In an age of Uber, Lyft, and plenty of mass transit options what is the excuse for drinking and driving?
In an age of Uber, Lyft, and plenty of mass transit options what is the excuse for drinking and driving?
Lackluster laws, enforcement and punishment. In Washington State, it is ONLY a Class C Felony if you have four DUI convictions within 10 years and that is a more recent law and probably on the harsher side for our country!
Add to the fact that for your first three DUI offenses, you lose your license for MINIMUM 90 days, 2 years and 3 years respectively AND you have an ignition lock for 1 year, 5 years and 10 years respectively, not to mention the fines and jail time/home monitoring that come with the convictions.
Even with our lackluster laws, how in the hell was she even able to commit 5 DUIs?
It aggravates me that there is exactly zero willpower to really start getting serious about DUI punishment, like every other first world country. Whether or not the suspect was under the influence when she killed Alex, she should not have been behind the wheel in the first place.
5 DUI’s and she still has her license??? It should have been taken away after the 2nd one.
I rode this route on Saturday, June 30th in the afternoon, to reacquaint myself to the area (after not having done my bike commuting route for a year). When I bike to work from Seattle to Renton, I always consider that stretch of Rainier Ave S as one of the “safer” biking areas, with clearly delineated bike lanes. You still have to be hyper-vigilant for road debris and cross-street drivers suddenly entering the roadway–and now drunk-ass people, so it seems. This is an area I enjoy, since I know that potholes and deep storm drains on the stretch near Renton Municipal Airport are upcoming. Hearing that someone was killed while in a bike lane makes me second-guess the need to mix-it-up with traffic during every Seattle ride, and bike commuting in general.
Where is the outrage, where are the protests? We should be shutting down 4th avenue when people die on bicycles. SDOT and the lackluster Durkan administration couldn’t care less about people getting injured and killed and bicycles; it’s up to us to make them care.