Newborn baby and mother in ICU, both grandparents killed, in possible drink-driving crash

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Two people were killed and a young woman and 10-day-old infant were clinging to life after a pickup ran into a group of pedestrians crossing a busy street near Nathan Eckstein Middle School.

The 50-year-old man arrested for allegedly driving his pickup into a group of pedestrians near Eckstein Middle School on Monday, killing two people and leaving a woman and her infant clinging to life, has at least two drunken-driving arrests, according to court documents

Mark W. Mullan, 50, was booked into the King County Jail Monday evening for investigation of vehicular homicide, according to jail logs.

Seattle Municipal Court records show Mullan, who is active in youth baseball, was arrested on Dec. 26 in Seattle for DUI and again on Jan. 14 in Snohomish County. Washington State Patrol records indicate he was driving the same vehicle — a black Chevrolet pickup registered in his name — when he was arrested in December. That crime involved a hit-and-run and property damage as well, according to citation information.

Brad Benfield, who oversees vehicle licensing at the state Department of Licensing, said Mullan was driving with a suspended driver’s license.

A review of Seattle municipal-court records indicates Mullan has a long history of traffic violations dating back to a citation for inattentive driving in 1991, a red-light violation in 1997 and speeding citations in 2001, 2003 and 2010.

Monday’s accident horrified witnesses who reported seeing bodies thrown into the air. Killed were a man and woman, 66 and 68.

Relatives identified them as Judy and Dennis Schulte. They are believed to be the in-laws of the woman, 33, who, along with her 10-day-old baby, was injured in Monday’s accident. Both were listed in critical condition Tuesday at Harborview Medical Center.

The Schultes had made arrangements to live part time in Seattle to be close to their son, daughter-in-law and grandchild.

“They’d been waiting for that grandbaby for years,” said Judy Schulte’s sister, Susan Morton, of Cottonwood, Minn. “They were just magnificent people. It’s a terrible loss.”

According to Susan Morton’s husband, Steve Morton, the Schultes had purchased a home a few blocks from their son’s house about a month ago. They planned to spend six months of the year with their son, his wife and their first grandchild and the other half with their daughter in Indianapolis.

Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said the first responders were shaken by the scene.

“These are family members, fathers, mothers and they have kids, and it hits them hard,” he said. “You do your professional job while you’re treating these patients and taking care of the situation, but they’re people, too, and it affects them.”