The King County Medical Examiner’s office has confirmed that a man in his 40s, who was struck by a car in a crosswalk while out walking his dog in Kirkland on Monday, has died. Kyle Warnick was sent to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries Monday afternoon. He died on Tuesday.
“I drove to the site yesterday [Tuesday] at about the same time of day as the accident the day before to check it out and am totally dumbfounded as to how this happened,” wrote Warnick’s step brother Jay Himmelman on the original story posted on the Kirkland Reporter website. “The intersection is very clear, no obstructions, sun was not in my eyes, brightly painted large crosswalks, three way stop, 25 mph speed zone, about as safe-looking as any crosswalk situation I could imagine.”
Some shared thoughts about Warnick on the site.
“Kyle was a Microsoftie and a very dear beloved friend of several of us so we had him on Facebook and heard about it immediately,” wrote co-worker Ron George. “… He was such a laughing, beautiful, great spirit and a loving father of two boys …”
The Reporter had 21 comments on its online story as of early Wednesday morning.
“I knew and worked with Kyle a few years ago,” wrote Nat Burnett. “Kyle was one of the most enthusiastic and funny people I’ve ever met. He will be missed by many I’m sure. RIP Kyle.”
Robin Rees wrote: “A wonderful person, a caring mentor and a joyful soul – I will miss my dear friend.”
Kirkland Police and Fire Department personnel were dispatched to a reported car and pedestrian collision on 119th Place Northeast and Northeast 144th Street at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
The initial investigation at the scene revealed that Warnick was crossing from west to east when he was struck by a Toyota Prius driven by a woman in her 50s.
The driver told police she was making a left turn onto 119th Place Northeast from Northeast 144th Street and did not see Warnick in the crosswalk.
“If I was a pedestrian I would not feel unsafe,” Himmelman wrote. “… I do not know all details, but I cannot understand how anyone properly operating a car would not see him.”
The Kirkland Police Major Accident Investigation Team was called in to process the scene.
“The vehicle impacted the pedestrian who was treated at the scene by Kirkland Fire Department personnel for severe head trauma and was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for what appeared to be life threatening injuries,” Kirkland Police Lt. John Haslip said in a release sent out on Monday.
The female was the only occupant of the vehicle.
“Alcohol does not appear to be a contributing factor,” Haslip said. “The female driver has been cooperative in the investigation.”
Some people commented on the Reporter website that the intersection is known to be dangerous.
“This is one of the worst intersections ever made,” Arian Lori-Amini wrote on the Reporter website. “We have complained to city multiple times and they won’t add speed bumps cause it’s a major route to the hospital.”
Many in the community are hurting from the loss of a good friend.
George remembered his friend this way:
“He was an amazing storyteller, not just in life, but in business. Telling a story in software is everything. He had this incredible way of talking about customers and software and giving it meaning, that motivated all those around him. After a meeting with Kyle, you knew what you were working on and who you were helping, even if the first line of code did not exist. He would paint a magical portrait of stories and people, so when you went away you were invigorated. He went all around the world talking about the Surface (the big table years ago) and explaining how it worked and getting people involved. When I first went to Surface, he was the first person I saw … and I came out of that meeting, truly enlightened.”
