Woman hit by three cars, dies on Interstate 405

A 26-year-old woman died early Friday after she was struck by three vehicles while trying to cross Interstate 405 about a mile north of the King-Snohomish county line, according to the State Patrol.

Just before 1 a.m., Kirkland police responded to a 911 call about an assault at Waldo's Tavern on Kirkland's Northeast 85th Street, said Trooper Kirk Rudeen.

Kaisa Lauren Larson, who wasn't involved in the assault, had been asked to leave the bar by tavern employees earlier in the evening but was hanging out in the parking lot.

She "was very intoxicated" and was "getting in the way" as officers attempted to investigate the assault complaint, Rudeen said. Officers called Larson a cab that was to take her to a friend's house in Lynnwood.

As the cab traveled north on I-405, Larson became agitated and the cab driver pulled over on the shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, Rudeen said. Larson, who was wearing dark clothing, jumped out of the cab and began walking across northbound lanes.

She made it halfway to the median when she was struck by a car and fell to the ground about 1:35 a.m., Rudeen said. She was then hit by two other cars and died at the scene.

"The sad thing is this is a fatality that never needed to happen," he said.

Thurston County

Prosecutor resigns after sex scandal

A Thurston County senior deputy prosecutor suspected of having sex with a co-worker in a women's bathroom at Qwest Field in October has resigned.

William Halstead, who told his boss, Thurston County Prosecutor Ed Holm, that he was just using the facilities when he was arrested by King County sheriff's deputies during a Seahawks game, had been working from home while Holm decided on what kind of discipline Halstead would face, Chief Deputy Jon Tunheim said Friday.

Halstead, 39, submitted his letter of resignation Tuesday, and Holm accepted it, he said.

Halstead, who was found in a bathroom stall with a female paralegal, was arrested on suspicion of obstruction and trespassing and was interviewed and released. It will be up to the Seattle City Attorney's Office to decide whether to file charges against him.

Seattle

Ohio arrest made in local rape case

A man accused of raping a woman in the Pioneer Square neighborhood two years ago was arrested Friday in Springfield, Ohio.

The suspect grabbed the woman, dragged her into an alley and threatened her at knifepoint if she didn't comply, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The man, who is not being named because he hasn't been charged, was identified as the lead suspect in the January 2005 rape through evidence collected by Seattle police.

He was arrested at his Springfield job. He awaits extradition to Seattle.

Seattle Times staff and news services