The horrible car accident at 15th Ave NW and NW 75th St. Thursday night has become a fatality. We have confirmed that Andy Kotowicz, one of the drivers involved in the crash, passed away early Sunday morning. Police say a Ford Fusion rear-ended the Subaru and pushed it underneath a truck. Kotowicz had to be extricated by firefighters. His four-year-old daughter, who was in the back seat, was rescued by a Good Samaritan. According to Susan Gregg-Hanson at Harborview Medical Center, she was treated and released the day after the crash.
Kyla Fairchild of No Depression was a friend of Andy’s. “He was a super guy,” she tells us. She says he was working at his dream job. Andy had been the Vice President of Sales and Director of Marketing at Sub Pop, where he worked for the last decade. Fairchild tells us that he recently moved back to Ballard with his wife and daughter.
“Andy was one of those people who oozed wisdom, warmth and kindness. He had a twinkle in his eye, a great sense of humor and every time we talked he had a fantastic new band to turn me on to.” Fairchild writes in a tribute to her friend. “He loved music as much or more than anyone I’ve met in (or out) of the music industry over the years. This is a reminder how quickly life can change and how important it is to tell the people around you how much they mean to you as often as you can. You never know when it will be the last time.”
Detective Mark Jamieson with the Seattle Police Department tells us that investigators are still working on what happened. “A complex collision investigation like this one can take months to complete,” Jamieson says. (Photo courtesy Kate Jackson of Sub Pop.)