Celebration of Susie Dreher’s life to take place on Thursday

Published 12:07 pm Monday, July 6, 2015

There will be a celebration of Susie Dreher’s life at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Happy Valley Grange, 19720 N.E. 50th St. in Redmond.

Susie, 2, passed away on July 1 after being struck by a car in Redmond Town Center.

She is survived by her father Jonathan and mother Veronica, as well as her two sisters, Jillian, 4, and Genevieve, 6 weeks.

A relative said, “She was a beautiful, joyful little girl.”

Susie, an early walker, was drawn to sports by the time she was 1 and a half years old and was always kicking or throwing a ball, the family wrote in her obituary.

“Recently, a seasoned coach had stepped aside to say how she had never seen a 2-year-old with such apparent talent for dribbling a soccer ball. She loved the Seahawks and insisted on wearing a long-sleeved Seahawks shirt to bed on one of her last nights, despite the warm weather,” the obituary reads.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial donation to Safe Crossings, a charity that helps children coping with grief. The website is http://safecrossingsfoundation.org.

According to the relative, Veronica was at home with Genevieve when the family’s nanny took Susie and Jillian for ice cream at Redmond Town Center. The Redmond Police Department (RPD) and Redmond Fire Department received the call about the accident at about 4:57 p.m.

The driver, a 25-year-old man from Kenmore, cooperated with police and agreed to take a voluntary blood draw. According to an RPD press release, at this time, drugs and/or alcohol don’t appear to be factors in the accident.

No criminal charges have been filed against the driver, according to RPD Cmdr. Erik Scairpon on Monday, and he noted that many witnesses — including the driver behind the 25-year-old — said the Kenmore man wasn’t at fault. Scairpon said the investigation is still ongoing.

RPD Cmdr. Charlie Gorman said the girl darted out from the nearby playground into the street as the driver slowed to a stop and struck the girl, who died on scene.