We’ve received two reports of incidents that don’t clearly qualify for West Seattle Crime Watch classification, but are both of potential interest – one as a warning, one as a mystery. One involves a frightening encounter early today, the other a mysterious discovery last night, and both – apparently coincidentally – happened along the Genesee Hill stretch of SW Genesee west of California (map) – read on for both:
First one came in this morning, from Pat:
This morning around 5:30 AM I was going east (toward the Junction) on SW Genesee, having started out at 55th.
As I came over the hill I noticed a car sitting to my right maybe at 49th or 50th which made no attempt to move onto Genesee. It was odd and I was cautious. As I approached, he pulled out of the side street and blocked my way, stopping directly in front of me with his bright lights on me.
At first I was puzzled. Then I was alarmed, as I attempted to go around him and he moved, twice, to prevent my passage, clearly intent on harm. I began to lean on my horn then kept it up while I got my cell phone, always on, thank goodness, from where I keep it quickly handy when I am in my car. (I always have it with me and on, when driving alone.) It is a pink phone and I held it up, clearly showing I was using it, as I began to call 911, still leaning on my horn with my elbow. At that point he pulled around me and sped off.
I took the best look at the car that I could in the early light and saw an older model sedan, light colored, and the driver all in black, a rather slightly built man, whose face was covered except for his eyes. and maybe his nose. I later learned that police were quickly dispatched but with so little information they were unable to track him. The police asked which direction he had gone when he reached 55th. I told them the wrong direction and ought to have merely said that he turned right. In retrospect, I believe the turned-on phone made visible to this person, more than my elbow on the horn, because of the early hour, was what saved me from what could have been a very nasty situation.
I believed him to be very dangerous both to me personally, and possibly wishing to steal my late model vehicle.
This incident reported last night by Anne was only blocks from that one:
We were driving up Genesee (Saturday) at just before 6:30 pm to find an elderly woman, probably in her late 80’s/early 90’s, lying in the middle of the road at approximately the intersection of 45th and Genesee.
She was wearing a royal blue fleece jacket, black pants and black slip on shoes with no socks. She was bleeding and appeared to have hit her head. She was disoriented and could not identify herself nor where she had come from. The medics who arrived at the scene could not locate any identification on her.
We are reporting this to you in the hopes that someone may step forward knowing who this woman is and where she belongs. The neighbors who came out at the scene did not know her. We can only hope that her family has found her, and that she is well …
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