Family of driver sorry over fatality
The family of a man who struck a 39-year-old woman as he pulled out of his parking spot at a Post Falls grocery store expressed condolences for the victim’s family on Friday.
“Our family is very distraught and we’re very sorry for the loss of the other family,” driver Donald McNett’s family said in a statement over the phone. “It was an accident. It was simply an accident.”
Lisa King, a mother of four, was walking in the grocery store parking lot about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday when she was hit, according to the Idaho State Police. She died early Thursday morning at Kootenai Medical Center.
Authorities said it was raining and dark at the time. Alcohol does not appear to have been a factor, ISP Capt. Wayne Longo said Friday.
McNett’s adult children said the accident would have been terrible no matter when it had occurred, but the fact that it was just days before Christmas was especially tragic.
“This is heartbreaking for us, too,” they said. “We really, really are feeling for this lady’s family.”
King, an employee with the Post Falls School District, was honored as the district’s Patron of the Year in 2004 for her volunteer work with students at Mullan Trail Elementary.
This year, King was hired as a paraprofessional and worked with students in the computer lab at the district’s KinderCenter, Superintendent Jerry Keane said Friday.
“I kind of joked with her, ‘You’re finally getting paid for all of the work you do,’ ” Keane said. He said King continued to put in countless hours as a volunteer even after she began working for the district.
Keane said the district’s crisis committee will get together next week to provide support for staff and students when they return to school after the holiday break.
“Everybody’s touched in some way,” he said.
Services for King are set for 1 p.m. Wednesday at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Coeur d’Alene. Yates Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
King’s friends have established a memorial fund, the Lisa King Family Memorial. Donations are being accepted at any Wells Fargo branch.
Idaho State Police continued to investigate the accident Friday. Capt. Wayne Longo said a few people who were in the parking lot at the time have contacted ISP, but Longo said he hopes more people come forward to provide investigators with any information they might have.
“We know there were other people who saw this,” Longo said, noting that the parking lot was crowded at the time. “Anything is what we are looking for.”