From left to right are Dezman Harper, Robert Young and Tharon Sluharty. All were involved in Sunday’s wreck at Lake Crescent.

From left to right are Dezman Harper, Robert Young and Tharon Sluharty. All were involved in Sunday’s wreck at Lake Crescent.

Massive injuries suffered by Federal Way family hit by falling tree near Lake Crescent

PORT ANGELES — Bella’s back is broken.

Her grandfather’s back is broken. Her grandmother was in a coma Tuesday. Her cousin is dead.

It looks like her 2-year-old cousin will pull through.

That’s the piled-up world the 5-year-old girl faces in the weeks ahead.

She was among five family members from Federal Way who were traveling in a vehicle on U.S. Highway 101 where it skirts Lake Crescent when the SUV was struck by a falling tree mid afternoon on New Year’s Day.

Family members were waiting Tuesday to find out if surgeries at Harborview Medical Center helped repair two of the survivors’ broken backs.

The grandmother, Julie K. Young, 50, was in the front seat.

She was in a coma Monday while her 2-year-old grandson, in the back seat, is expected to make a full recovery, said Alisha Marie Cartwright of Shoreline, a cousin.

Another grandson, Dezman L. Harper, 5, who was in the back seat behind his grandmother, died at the scene, authorities said.

The group was headed home to Federal Way after visiting a longtime friend in Clallam Bay for the holidays, said Cartwright’s father, Travis Cartwright, of Shoreline.

They were transported later Sunday from Olympic Medical Center to Harborview.

“The grandparents and grandkids were having fun,” said Denice Cartwright, Travis Cartwright’s wife. “It’s horrible.”

The four survivors remained in Harborview’s intensive care unit Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The Cartwrights gave the following information on the survivors’ conditions:

• Julie Young was unconscious when emergency responders wielding hydraulic equipment pulled her from the crushed SUV.

“She has not become conscious since the accident,” Travis Cartwright said. “They are just running tests to figure out what’s going on.”

The hospital spokeswoman said she remained in critical condition Tuesday.

• The driver, Robert Young, 51, a maintenance technician for an area school district, went through “several hours” of surgery Monday to repair multiple broken vertebrae, Travis Cartwright said, adding that Young also suffered a broken rib.

“We’ve got to wait for healing time to see how he comes out of it,” he said.

Young remained in serious condition Tuesday.

“I talked to him a little bit,” Cartwright said. “He was pretty distraught about his grandson.”

Cartwright did not know how mobile Young is.

• Isabella “Bella” R. Young, 5, had surgery for a broken back the day of the accident.

She is paralyzed from the waist down, Alisha Cartwright said.

She remained in serious condition Tuesday.

• Tharon L. Sluharty, 2, has had his breathing tube removed and is expected to make a full recovery, she said.

“Tharon is more in shock than anything,” Travis Cartwright said.

He was in serious condition Tuesday but could soon be upgraded from intensive care to an acute-care floor, the hospital spokeswoman said.

At least 20 family members live in the Shoreline-Federal Way area, Alisha Cartwright said.

“We all kind of live within 20 miles of each other,” she added.

GoFundMe sites to help with funeral and medical expenses are at Alisha Marie Cartwright’s Facebook page and at www.gofundme.com/young-family-medical-and-funeral.

“They are going to have some astronomical medical expenses,” Travis Cartwright said.

“You can plan for things, you can foresee things, but this kind of thing you can’t be prepared for.”

Agencies who responded to the fatality after the 2:16 p.m. Sunday emergency call included Clallam County Fire Districts 2 and 4, the State Patrol, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and the National Park Service.

The incident remains under investigation by the National Park Service, because it occurred inside Olympic National Park, and the State Patrol.

________

Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Leo Wright, 3, of Port Townsend examines an end-of-season sunflower at the Sequim Botanical Garden near the Albert Haller Playfields at the Water Reuse Demonstration Site on Wednesday. The garden features a variety of flowers and plants maintained the city and by local gardening groups. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Close-up look

Leo Wright, 3, of Port Townsend examines an end-of-season sunflower at the… Continue reading

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., joined by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, right, and other GOP members, talks to reporters just after voting to advance appropriations bills on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday night. McCarthy is digging in on his refusal to take up Senate legislation designed to keep the federal government fully running beyond midnight Saturday. (J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press, File)
If shutdown occurs, parks will close

National sites will shutter and services will be reduced

Olympic National Park reopens some trails

Fires burning in Olympic National Park had forced… Continue reading

Clallam considers new 10-year cable TV franchise

Hearing on pact with Astound Broadband

A landslide blocks Mount Walker Lookout Road on Thursday morning. (Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office)
Landslide closes road for about four hours

Woman rescued on Mount Walker Lookout

Darlene Pittsley of Port Angeles gives some attention to Rosie, an alpaca, during a fundraising flea market to benefit the non-profit Olympic Peninsula Llama/Alpaca Rescue on Saturday at the Moose Lodge in Port Angeles. The three-day event, which also featured live demonstrations and photos with alpacas, was scheduled to correspond with National Alpaca Farm Days. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Raising funds for alpacas

Darlene Pittsley of Port Angeles gives some attention to Rosie, an alpaca,… Continue reading

Trio of Clallam candidate forums coming up

The League of Women Voters of Clallam County and North Olympic Library… Continue reading

State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Lake Sutherland.
Senator: Gains made in housing

Regulatory reform likely focus in ’24

Clallam weed board seeks assessment hike

Proposal could bring in extra $213K a year

Most Read