TACOMA, Wash. — The family of a woman who was found dead on a Tacoma roadway said they have learned she was hit and killed by a Tacoma school bus on Oct. 4.
Earlier this month, 32-year-old Brittanee Parker was found dead after she had taken her dog out in the morning near her apartment on South 11th Street.
"We have been just left in the dark this entire time,” said Luke Mann, Parker's cousin. “I really do feel like they just wanted it to be swept under the rug."
Mann said a Tacoma Police Department investigator told his family on Friday afternoon that a Tacoma school bus driver hit Parker.
According to Mann, the investigator said the bus driver told police they thought they had hit a dog while driving. The driver then told police they saw the dog walk away after the collision, so they kept on driving, Mann said.
KING 5 has reached out to the Tacoma Police Department and the Tacoma School District for comment on these allegations and has not yet heard back.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Parker's identify, but her cause and manner of death are still pending as of Oct. 19.
Parker's family in California released a statement, thanking the Tacoma Police Department for their "diligent work" on the case. Her family is seeking legal counsel.
But Mann said questions remain.
Mann said he believes the Tacoma Police Department is not doing enough to hold accountable whoever is responsible.
"How many other people has this happened to that has been completely swept under the rug?” said Mann, calling for an investigation into the department and the school district.
"Even if they thought they hit something," Mann said, "they should've stopped, period."