Seattle, WA
Professional pet sitter struck by hit-and-run driver while taking cat for a walk
Seattle pet sitter recovering from hit-and-run
A 73-year-old professional dog walker and pet-sitter from Seward Park is still recovering in the hospital after a hit-and-run driver nearly killed her on Christmas Day.
SEATTLE – A 73-year-old professional dog walker and pet-sitter from Seward Park is still recovering in the hospital after a hit-and-run driver nearly killed her on Christmas Day.
Witnesses who found Karen Miely injured say the driver hit her near 52nd Ave South and Orcas Street, then sped away.
“It’s been kind of a haze actually, an awful lot to untangle,” said Miely.
She spoke to us from her hospital bed on Friday.
“It’s been hard, and I have this neck brace and my neck also has some trauma to it,” said Miely.
The pet caretaker was taking her own cat, “Maximus Rex”, out for his nightly walk.
“He’s a big guy. He’s probably about 15 lbs,” said Miely. He’s pictured below:
Since “Max” is particular, the two took advantage of the drier evening.
“He kind of doesn’t like rain that much,” said Miely. “He just likes having his mom spend time with him.”
However, the holiday turned into a nightmare for both of them.
“My cat must have witnessed the whole thing, the poor guy,” said Miely.
The crash, which happened sometime around 7 p.m., left Miely with broken legs and a shattered pelvis, among other injuries.
“We are just waiting to see how things heal up,” said Karen, who’s already had surgery to repair some of the damage.
“It was terrifying,” said Maura Wahlen, a neighbor who heard the crash.
Whalen’s family of four had just sat down for Christmas dinner when they heard the impact.
“Literally saying what we were grateful for, and we heard a loud crash-impact. Didn’t know what it was. All four of us jumped up from the table,” said Wahlen. “My husband and I ran out. He was the first to get to her.”
Whalen said her daughter called 911, and they stayed with Miely until the EMT’s and police officers arrived. Whalen said both the officers who responded and the paramedics were “fantastic,” adding they were on scene quickly.
Karen says she knew Ruth Dalton, another dog walker who died after she was attacked and run over in August. She even attended Ruth’s memorial service.
“That was just a shock when I heard what had happened to her. It really felt personal,” said Miely.
The driver that hit Miely not only left her battered and broken, but also took away her ability to make a living through her business, Seattle Tails.
“It hit me in the biggest week of the year. My customers have been great, but wow,” she said.
Friends and loved ones have created an online fundraiser for Miely to help with her unexpected expenses and rehabilitation.
Another silver lining is that Max the cat survived, and wasn’t injured.
“He’s really good at self-preservation, so I’m sure he just took off whenever it happened,” said Miely, who says Max is back home and being cared for. “I tried to get him on Facetime but we only got me.”
She’s hoping someone has security video of the driver or the car that evening, so she can get some answers.
“I guess it’s a blessing you really don’t remember that kind of trauma,” said Miely.
Neighbors say, in general, the intersection has poor visibility and there have been crashes there before. They were not surprised that a crash happened there.
FOX 13 reached out to Seattle Police on Friday evening for an update on the case. Spokesperson Eric Munoz says the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is on the case. Munoz says that so far no arrests have been made and there has not been a suspect identified.
Anyone that has security video from the area of 52nd Ave S. and Orcas Street at around 7 p.m. on December 25th is encouraged to contact Seattle Police.
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
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