Family man dies in wreck, $79M settlement, cemetery complaints among top stories

Major news ranging from a record-breaking state settlement to community concerns over cemetery upkeep made headlines in Pierce County on Wednesday. Here’s a quick look at the local stories worth your attention.

• Washington state agreed to pay nearly $80 million to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of two adopted Pierce County children gravely injured in their biological parents’ care, with the $45 million and $34 million payouts marking the largest and second-largest pretrial tort settlements by individual plaintiffs in state history. A 9-month-old boy named Leo “Bubby” Strode was severely burned in a 2020 shed fire after the Department of Children, Youth & Families failed to act despite knowing of his parents’ drug use and poor living conditions.
• Families are speaking out about overgrown grass, irrigation pipes left on grave markers and general neglect at Puyallup’s Woodbine Cemetery, with one resident telling the city council the historic 30-acre site “looked like hell” during a recent visit. Puyallup officials acknowledged the maintenance issues at Woodbine, which operates on an $850,000 annual budget with two dedicated staff members, and said additional parks staff and resources have been allocated with plans to return to full staffing by fall.
• Brian Arnold Emmons, 58, died Monday after driving his pickup through the barrier of Tacoma’s Portland Avenue overpass near Cleveland Way, with his truck catching fire after plunging to the ground below. Emmons’ daughter Hailey suspects her father suffered a medical emergency tied to his diabetes, and she remembered the 30-year welder who recently took a job at Domino’s Pizza as an outgoing family man who loved soccer, motorcycles and karaoke.
• After It’s Greek To Me closed in 2024 following 35 years in Central Tacoma, food writer Kristine Sherred identified Giorgio’s Greek Cafe in Puyallup as the primary sit-down Greek restaurant option remaining in Pierce County. The Tacoma Greek Festival, hosted annually by St. Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church, remains a major source of authentic Greek cuisine for the community and will run Oct. 9-11 this year with traditional pastries, souvlaki and loukamades.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by senior editor Adam Lynn. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.