 |
 |
 |
||
Contact Us
|
Wrongful Death Ends in 2.8million Verdict By William S. Bailey THE INCIDENT Thursday, June 22, 2000 , was a bright, sunny late spring day in Seattle . Twenty-two year old Yianni Philippides was finishing up his last run of the day as a bicycle messenger, en route to an architectural firm on the Seattle waterfront. Having started college while still in high school, Yianni had decided to give himself a break from school after his senior year at University of Washington . He intended to follow his older sister Zoe into law eventually. Yianni waited on the northeast corner of lower Alaskan Way & Spring Street for the traffic to clear before he entered the crosswalk toward the west side of the street. Eyewitness Robert Johns saw him straddling his bicycle, feet on the ground, looking both ways. Johns had just come from an interview at Holland American Lines and was stopped in the inside southbound lane of Alaskan Way . He made eye contact with Yianni and indicated that he would not attempt to make his left turn until Yianni cleared the crosswalk. Johns saw that the oncoming northbound traffic lanes were clear. Yianni pushed off, pedaling slowly, after taking one last look to his left. Yianni cleared one lane and got halfway through the second lane of northbound traffic when he was hit at high speed by Robert Bernard, a 30 year old traveling shoe salesman for Wolverine Worldwide. Though Bernard was in Seattle to call on Nordstrom's, staying right across the street at the Sheraton, he nonetheless had rented the Isuzu Trooper SUV he was driving. Bernard told the police later that he never saw Yianni Philippides until he was on the hood of his vehicle. The damage done to the Isuzu Trooper by Yianni Philippides body was extensive – the right front portion of the hood was crumpled and two prominent impact spider webs were on the windshield from the secondary impact of Yianni's body. SFD paramedics responded to the scene and found Yianni breathing but unconscious, with signs of a severe head injury. He was rushed to Harborview. About a mile away, Yianni's sister Zoe had gone with friends to Mama's Mexican Kitchen in Belltown for drinks after a day of studying for the bar. After taking only a few sips from her margarita, she suddenly felt unwell. She asked to be taken home by her friends. On the way, she heard sirens in the distance. At the time, she did not know that this was from emergency medical and police personnel rushing to the scene where her brother had just been hit by Robert Bernard. June 22 was a busy time for the Seattle Police Department with the Aristotle Marr bank robbery and murder occurring earlier that same day. Officer Jim Landers was an acting sergeant who was called to Spring Street & Alaskan Way to help process the collision scene. |
|||
Disclaimer | Sitemap | Contact Us | 2008 All Rights Reserved | Site Developed by Catherine Flemming | Designed by Suryn Longbotham |
||||