LYNNWOOD—Lynnwood woman Taylor Druliner, 30, passed away at Harborview Medical Center on Saturday, March 31, from injuries sustained by a hit-and-run incident two weeks earlier.
The hit-and-run took place on Highway 99, just south of the 148th Street Intersection, in Lynnwood, around 8:51 p.m. on March 19. The driver, and suspect, is still at large.
According to the Washington State Patrol, who are investigating the incident, the driver was speeding down the center lane going southbound. Druliner was crossing the Highway, east to west, when she was struck by the vehicle. The driver sped off and fled the scene without stopping.
The Lynnwood Times spoke with Druliner’s mother, Carol McKinnon, who believes that her daughter had been in a vehicle earlier with her boyfriend at the time when the two got into an argument. Druliner promptly exited her boyfriend’s vehicle and decided to walk home, crossing the street to gain distance from the situation.
McKinnon’s son, who was an emergency contact for Druliner, received an alert that night and the two of them immediately drove to the site of the incident where Druliner had already been placed on a gurney in route to Harborview Medical Center. She was unconscious and remained in a coma until her passing, he mother told the Lynnwood Times.
“I was completely devastated,” said McKinnon. “It’s the utmost importance we find this person so I can start grieving. I’m so angry but I need to stay focused. I feel like I’m in a holding pattern trying to find this person with not a lot of help, I feel, from the Washington State Patrol.”
Security camera footage from a local business captured a vehicle of interest—a dark colored Sedan, possibly a Toyota Corolla. McKinnon believes that there may be damage to the front of the vehicle, such as a cracked windshield or dent where it struck her daughter.
Druliner was transported to Harborview Medical in critical condition suffering a fractured pelvis, a broken leg, a fractured skull, and brain damage. She underwent emergency brain surgery that night and was put in Harborview’s ICU until her passing last Saturday from a brain hemorrhage.
McKinnon informed the Lynnwood Times that they were the fourth family at Harborview, within an 11-day period, who had a loved one hospitalized due to a hit-and-run in the area.
“That’s just one facility. It’s shocking and heartbreaking to see that people just don’t care about other people,” said McKinnon. “That’s my message; slow down, care about other people, and think about what you would want if this was your family member.”
McKinnon took to social media the night of her passing writing that her daughter was an organ donor, which granted her a bit of “solace” knowing that her daughter will “live on through the people she will save” with her transplants.
The organ donation process took about two days before Druliner’s body was transported to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office. The hit-and-run is under criminal investigation. Once the Medical Examiner’s Office concludes their report, her family will begin planning for a celebration of life, McKinnon informed the Lynnwood Times.
“I’m just waiting until she can finally rest in peace,” said McKinnon.
Taylor Druliner was described by her mother as being a “really sweet individual” with a “beautiful smile.” She had worked as a dental coordinator for several years before recently being promoted to dental assistant at a local office. She was also creative and loved to craft, her mother added.
“She was shy, but she always seemed to draw people in to make them feel comfortable in any situation,” said McKinnon.
McKinnon is now calling on anybody and everybody to be on the lookout for the suspects’ vehicle so that she and her family can finally have some resolution.
“They destroyed a family, they took someone’s life. I just don’t understand how somebody is okay with that and is just going on with their life,” said McKinnon.
If you have details that could help solve this case, please contact Detective Daniel Comnick with the Washington State Patrol at (425)-508-0606 or via email at daniel.comnick@wsp.wa.gov.
