Girl, 14, suspected of driving drunk

State Patrol detectives were still waiting Tuesday afternoon to talk to a 14-year-old girl suspected of driving drunk and rolling a van on Highway 18 with her mother passed out in the passenger seat.

"The 14-year-old has been extremely combative with the medical staff and it's really kind of pointless to try and interview her, her being the way she is," said Trooper Cliff Pratt. "We'll let her get a bit better."

The girl, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, suffered serious head injuries Tuesday morning when she was thrown from a rear side window of the 1997 Dodge Caravan, Pratt said. She was in serious but stable condition at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue.

Her 32-year-old mother, who Pratt said was passed out drunk, was wearing a seat belt and suffered minor injuries. She was treated at Overlake and released Tuesday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Around 5:20 a.m. Tuesday, a truck driver called 911 to report the rollover crash on eastbound Highway 18, just east of the Tiger Mountain summit, where two eastbound lanes merge into one, Pratt said. The truck driver told troopers he was following the minivan and saw the driver driving erratically and speeding up and slowing down.

The minivan was going a little over 40 mph in a 60 mph zone when it veered off into a ditch, rolled at least three times and landed on its wheels back on the roadway, Pratt said. Several cans of malt liquor were strewn across the highway and shoulder, and troopers smelled "the distinct odor of alcohol from the vehicle and both persons," he said.

The first troopers to arrive on the scene said the mother was incoherent while the girl was drifting in and out of consciousness, Pratt said. Neither was carrying identification and at first troopers didn't know the two were related, he said.

The Seattle Times is not naming the mother because she has not been charged with a crime. She was not booked into jail but could face possible charges of allowing a minor to drive, reckless endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Pratt said.

The Times does not typically name juveniles accused of crimes. But the girl could face charges of vehicular assault, driving under the influence and driving without a license, according to the State Patrol.

The woman and her daughter live on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation, outside of Auburn. They told troopers they were drinking at another residence near the Muckleshoot Casino but detectives do not know where they were headed or why the girl was driving, Pratt said.

No one answered the door at the woman's home on Tuesday.

Seattle Times reporter Sonia Krishnan contributed to this report.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com