‘He didn’t deserve that’: Family pleads for answers after crash kills loved one in Parkland

PARKLAND, Wash. — Family members are pleading for answers, including the suspect’s information after their loved one was killed in a crash in Parkland.

KIRO 7 News spoke with Melissa Trahan on Thursday and Friday.

She confirmed the victim was her father, 45-year-old Michael Selby.

“He was killed, and he didn’t deserve that,” she said.

Trahan told KIRO 7 News that she has been trying to find more details about the crash, the suspect’s information, and her father’s death.

She and her grandmother said the lack of information had put a pause on her father’s funeral plans.

Trahan said she had not received any details from law enforcement prior to speaking with us.

“We don’t know who the person was. We just don’t know anything,” she said.

Lili Myhre, Selby’s mother, said, “I’m lost. I’m lost. I don’t know how to proceed. Where to go. How to help move things forward, whether it be closure with the kids, Melissa and I, the family. We don’t know how to proceed. It’s been how many days and we’re still stuck on the first day.”

KIRO 7 News looked into this situation and reached out to the Tacoma Police Department, where a spokesperson later confirmed that the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department was possibly leading the case.

On Thursday, a spokesperson with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the details with us.

Sgt. Darren Moss, a public information officer with the department, said they received a report of a crash Monday morning, October 9, at about 1 a.m.

He said the suspect, who was speeding, drove past a stop sign at the intersection of 116th Street and C Street South in Parkland.

The suspect driver struck a man, who was driving a yellow ATV south on C Street, and then drove through a fence and crashed into a nearby home.

The victim died at the scene, he said.

Moss said the ATV did not have lights and was not street legal, however, he said, “He didn’t cause the collision. That other person ran the stop sign at a high rate of speed.”

He said the suspect was found unresponsive at the scene and was taken to a hospital with critical injuries.

Blood was taken from the suspect to determine if they were impaired during the crash, Moss told KIRO 7 News.

Results have not been confirmed, he said.

“Because she was in the hospital, we didn’t book her in the jail,” Moss said. “Had she been healthy and injured, she would have been booked that morning.”

As of Friday afternoon, there are no details on confirmed charges in this case.

KIRO 7 News asked Trahan about Michael Selby to learn more about him and the impact his death had left on the family.

She said her father had a passion for music, quads and trucks. He shared that passion with his grandchildren. Trahan added that her father was a great influence on her children, and was the only male role-model in their lives.

“He was the best papa that any kid could ever have, any kid like I was jealous,” she shared. “It feels so unreal that we’re never going to see him again.”

Myhre told KIRO 7 News that Selby was “My only child. The kind of love of my life so to speak. So, he was a big center of our family.”

Selby had a special bond with his grandmother, Myhre added, and said “This is really affecting her health. Obviously not just his death. I’m fearful for her well-being as well. I mean, it’s tragic, it affected us all.”

Myhre also shared with us that the funeral home had advised her family not to see their loved one’s body due to his injuries.

“I need to see him one more time, but they (the funeral home) advised us to not see him. I just want to touch his face one more time, peacefully sleeping,” she shared.

Now the family is pleading to other drivers to slow down to protect other families from future possible heartbreak.

“Just slow down. If there’s a stop sign, just slow down,” said Trahan. “You never know who’s going to be on the other side. You never know what family is going to be impacted. Just slow down and drive safely. Please for anyone else on the road.”

A makeshift memorial was created near the intersection where the crash happened.

Loved ones wrote messages on the bright balloons, sharing their thoughts and feelings with Selby.

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Fatal Crash

As many people within the community remember Selby, Trahan said the memorial is also a symbol for what would’ve been her father’s 46th birthday on Monday.

“I love you so much and I’m so proud of everything you have overcome. You were the best papa that any kid could ever have,” she shared a message to her father as she remembered him.

Loved ones created a GoFundMe to help the family during this difficult time. If you’d like to help, please click here.

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