SUV drives off ferry dock; 1 man dies
SOUTHWORTH — A State Patrol trooper says a man pulled from a vehicle that drove off a Washington State Ferries dock and into the water at Southworth in Kitsap County has died.
Trooper Russ Winger said Friday night that no one else was in the vehicle.
The Seattle Fire Department reported that the man was unconscious and unresponsive when divers retrieved him from the vehicle, which sank in 32 feet of water.
The trooper said the SUV went through a barrier at the dock.
It was pulled from the water late Friday night.
Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Wilson said that shortly after 6 p.m., callers reported an SUV driving off the dock.
Witnesses said the driver appeared to be traveling at least 30 mph.
The ferry system said the Southworth Dock reopened later Friday night.
Attorney general replacement rumor
SEATTLE — Seattle’s top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan, left office last week amid rumors she could be a candidate to replace Eric Holder as attorney general.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Durkan said she was honored by the speculation and called it a tribute to the work her office has done the past five years, including pushing reforms at the Seattle Police Department, cracking down on violent felons and cyber criminals and using forfeiture powers to help clean up troubled neighborhoods.
Durkan also made her mark by pressing for the creation in Seattle of one of the nation’s first federal drug courts.
Former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said she’s made it clear to the White House that Durkan is the “perfect candidate” to be the next attorney general.
Holder announced his resignation Sept. 25, saying he wanted to pursue new opportunities.
Boil-water advisory on Mercer Island
MERCER ISLAND — Residents of a wealthy Seattle suburb were told to boil their drinking water through the weekend despite 15 new water samples testing clean of E. coli contamination Friday.
It was the second time in a week people were ordered to take precautions with tap water in Mercer Island, a city of 24,000 on an island in Lake Washington whose residents include billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
The warning is unusual because most boil-water advisories hit small communities in rural areas.
More than 60 businesses were told to close Thursday after routine testing again turned up E. coli.
An advisory last weekend was lifted Monday after shuttering schools and restaurants.
Health and utility inspectors have not been able to find the source of the bacteria, and the city is considering sending divers to check its two closed water tanks, Mercer Island spokesman Ross Freeman said.
If daily samples continue to test free of E. coli, the earliest the boil advisory could be lifted would be Monday, he said.
No one has been sickened by the bacteria.
