McClure girl hit in crosswalk remains in ICU

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A 10-year-old Yakima girl remained in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after she was hit by an SUV that ran a red light Monday morning.

Police say the 65-year-old driver of a 2002 Ford Ranger apparently did not see a red light and drove through a crosswalk at about 7:10 a.m., as Veronica Gonzalez and her two sisters were walking at Cornell and West Washington avenues.

The driver, David Gotzh of Yakima, was headed east on Washington Avenue toward the rising sun, which hampered his visibility, police said.

Witnesses told police the eastbound traffic signal had turned red and Gonzalez had a northbound walk signal, according to a news release from the Yakima Police Department.

Gotzh has been cooperative with investigators, and police do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident.

Gonzalez was initially taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital but was later flown to the Seattle hospital's trauma center, police said. A hospital spokeswoman said Monday afternoon that the girl is in the intensive care unit.

A school employee said the girl is a student at McClure Elementary School.

Four passers-by stopped to help Gonzalez until emergency personnel arrived. Police reduced Washington Avenue to one traffic lane for four hours.

The investigation remains ongoing.