Joey Ladson will not be having his family over for Christmas this year and he doesn’t know where he is going to stay in the near future.
A Kirkland Police car ran into his house Tuesday evening after attempting to swerve out of the way of another car in an intersection while responding to a domestic violence call.
“The car hit it so hard the deck came off in the back yard,” said Ladson, whose teenage son Raz was the only person home at the time but was uninjured. “He called me and asked ‘what do I do about a police car in the living room.’”
The impact threw the Christmas tree and entertainment center across the room. The accident also caused a huge hole in the foundation, making the house uninhabitable.
Ladson thought his son was joking when he called: “He doesn’t have a sense of humor, but yeah, I thought he was joking.”
He could hear the police officer’s radio in the background and realized his son was serious.
“I was three hours away,” said Ladson, whose son was in a back room working on a computer at the time of the accident. “My brother came and picked him up last night and he stayed with friends.”
The accident took place shortly after 9 p.m. in the 12000 block 124th Avenue N.E. and occurred as the officer was responding to a domestic violence call.
The officer was driving north on 124th Avenue N.E. when a southbound vehicle suddenly turned left in front of the marked patrol car. The officer swerved right to avoid hitting the vehicle, plowing through Ladson’s hedge and finally coming to stop after hitting the residence.
The officer also had a civilian in the car with him as a part of the department’s ride-along program. The civilian received minor injuries. The officer was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons as he suffered a minor head injury.
The family was planning to have Christmas at the house – something they have not done in quite a while. The house belongs to Joey Ladson’s mother.
“I guess we will have to find somewhere else,” said Ladson, the day after the accident. “Some of the stuff that was in the house is now down in the crawl space. I hope (the City of Kirkland) will help me find a hotel or some kind of temporary housing. The City of Kirkland is definitely at fault.”
A spokesperson for the City of Kirkland, Marie Stake, said that the Ladsons are receiving help from a temporary housing assistance agency through the city’s insurance adjuster.
“We (the city) regret the unfortunate accident which has temporarily displaced the family,” said Stake. “We recognize that the Ladson family is unable to reside in the home so soon before the holidays and we are working diligently with all involved so that they can return as quickly as possible.”
Ladson was told that his insurance will have to bill the city.
Making things worse for Ladson, he was laid off from his job at Watson Asphalt and has not begun receiving unemployment yet. He is currently looking for a job.
