SEATTLE — Prosecutors have charged a Seattle man with intentionally driving off an overpass and onto I-5, killing an Everett woman last week.
Around 1:30 a.m. Nov. 3, Liming Gao was driving west on 130th Street near light rail construction in north Seattle, according to charging papers filed Monday in King County Superior Court.
As Gao, 45, approached the construction in his Toyota Sienna, he left the road, drove through a chain link fence and through the rest of the construction before landing in the northbound lanes of I-5, the charges say. The minivan landed on a Honda, causing minor injuries for its driver. The Sienna then struck a Cadillac SRX. The Cadillac flipped, ejecting a passenger, Mackenzie Mitchell. As the Cadillac flipped, it hit a box truck.
When state troopers arrived, Mitchell reportedly was pinned under the Cadillac. They extricated her. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where she died from her injuries that night. She was 29.
Gao was trapped in his car. After he was extricated, police noted he smelled of alcohol, according to court documents. His eyes were watery and bloodshot. Troopers suspected he was impaired.
Gao was taken to Harborview, where authorities took a sample of his blood. The results were pending with the state toxicology laboratory when the charges were filed, according to King County prosecutors.
At the hospital, Gao reportedly told a nurse he was trying to kill himself.
“This indicates that he intentionally drove off the city street, through the construction zone, and intended to cause a death on I-5 — his own,” deputy prosecutor Amy Freedheim wrote in the charges.
Prosecutors charged Gao with vehicular homicide and reckless driving. On Wednesday, he remained in jail in King County with bail set at $2 million. Court papers note Gao had no known criminal history.
An online fundraiser to help with expenses had raised over $43,000 for Mitchell’s family, as of Wednesday. It noted she had a 9-year-old son.
In a statement to KING 5, Mitchell’s family said they “are heartbroken over the loss of our beautiful Mackenzie.”
“She was truly a amazing soul,” the statement reads. “If you were one of the people that crossed her path, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Kenzie will be deeply missed by her entire family. She could light up a room in a second & loved fiercely.”
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
