Brother seeks help for sister injured in U.S. 2 crash

By Polly Keary, Editor

Jake Pinson, the brother of Startup mother-of-five Angella Halk, said yesterday that she and all five of the children injured with her in her vehicle in Monday's crash on U.S. 2 will pull through, probably without lasting damage, but that Halk's family is in need of support until insurance settlements occur.

Halk, 37, had been driving to Monroe with four of her children and one of her children's friends Monday evening when she was struck head-on by a Marysville woman who had crossed the centerline after colliding with the rear end of the vehicle in front of her, a collision that resulted in five vehicles being towed from the scene.

Halk's injuries were so severe and the Chevy Blazer she was driving so badly damaged that it took the Jaws of Life to free her, but the children acted heroically. All five of them were able to free themselves from their own seat belts in the upside-down vehicle, and Nikila, 11, helped the younger ones out and away from the wreck, said Pinson.

Once away from the wreck, Nikila then borrowed a phone from a good Samaritan and called their father, who was working on a tanker in Portland, and told him of the accident, whereupon their father set out immediately for home.

Of the five children in the car, two were mostly bruised. The boy in the front seat suffered a badly bitten lip and a broken nose. The guest with them, a boy of 10, had skull fractures and internal damage, but aside from having had reconstructive surgery on his eye, has a good prognosis. And one son, Jadyn, 13, had to have surgery for intestinal damage, Pinson said.

Halk herself suffered a number of broken bones and required several surgeries and a titanium rod in her femur. She will need more surgery, but she, as all the others, are alert and mending.

While that is good news, the family is still dealing with the financial fallout of two parents not working this week, and Halk, a CNA who typically works graveyard shift, is likely unable to work for some time.

There will undoubtedly be insurance settlements eventually, but in the short term, the family has bills to pay and mouths to feed.

"The thing that is most important; the insurance most likely won't kick in soon enough to cover the household needs, and she's not going to be able to work for a good long while,GÇ¥ said Pinson.

So Pinson established a benefit account at Wells Fargo Bank. The account is for Angella Halk, and the number is 9945616036.

There are also people organizing to help out with meals on the Sultan WA Facebook group page. The children are staying with grandparents while their mother recovers in Harborview, with her husband staying close by.

The Marysville woman driving the car that struck her is a medical student who smokes marijuana to treat anxiety, said her mother. The woman, Heather Lee, 26, said that she'd smoked some earlier that day, but how much or when isn't known, and results of blood tests may take a while. She was arrested on three counts of vehicular assault. She told authorities that she'd turned to address her squabbling children in the back seat and went she again looked forward, it was too late to avoid the car that was stopping ahead of her.