WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Pregnant woman remains in hospital, 4 days after hit-run

| Crime | High Point | West Seattle news

(Friday night photo by Kersti Muul)

As discussed in comments following coverage of last Friday’s hit-run that killed a bicyclist, another West Seattle hit-run at almost the same time Friday night sent a pedestrian to the hospital – a woman pregnant with twins. Today we heard from the victim’s brother-in-law, Matt, who was there when it happened at 34th/Myrtle:

On Friday evening, between 7:15 and 7:30, myself, my wife, our baby, and my sister-in-law were going for a walk. My sister-in-law is 30 weeks pregnant with twins. We were walking up 34th Ave by Hundley park and were crossing the intersection of 34th and Myrtle street, where there is a roundabout. While we were in the crosswalk, we heard a car come speeding up 34th. The car cut the roundabout and made an illegal left. The car was going at least 50 mph or more would be my guess. My sister in law was just behind us as we were walking. My wife ran forward with our baby to avoid being hit, but the car ended up hitting my sister in law and she flipped over the hood and landed on the ground. Some of the passengers got out but then jumped back in and the car sped off. The ended up stealing her phone that had fallen on the ground. Emergency services quickly got there and took my sister-in-law to the hospital. She has sustained injuries. The twin babies seem to be okay for now.

It was a black car, smaller sedan … The windows were tinted extremely dark, so you could not see inside at all. The men that got out were all Black, late teens or early 20s. The license plate of the car is CDM3—. The police were given all the details, but I’m still waiting for a detective to be assigned to the case. The incident number is 2022-183326.

Matt says his sister-in-law is still in the hospital, transferred to OB care after initial trauma care at Harborview.

sarge July 19, 2022 (3:16 pm)

Wow, what an entry in the “how low can you go” category – they hit a pregnant woman, nearly ran over a baby, got out and SAW that she was obviously injured, stole her phone, and drove off? You’d have to try hard to be a bigger POS.Hope they find them, and I hope she and babies and everyone are OK….. By the way it’s the same area where there was a speeding car / drive by shooting a few weeks back, are there cameras anywhere along there that help in these instances?

m July 19, 2022 (8:56 pm)

This kind of crime deserves 20+ years. Stealing her phone? To me that says this is not their 1st or 2nd rodeo.
B July 21, 2022 (2:16 am)

The rare occasion where I hope I win the jury duty lottery 🙏

Kersti Elisabeth Muul July 19, 2022 (3:33 pm)

Very sad to see this Friday night. The look on her face as the medics tended to her was hard to digest. Pure sorrow, fear and confusion. This made me so mad. I wish I had been there a couple seconds sooner to get the license plate.Imagine what kind of person plows into a visibly very pregnant woman, a woman and a baby..and others ..then has the nefarious wherewithal to get out and then steal their property.Twenty minutes later as I continued my walk, I was swarmed by police SUVs on 32nd and Othello. Her phone had been pinging there. Unfortunately they were too late.This disgusts me to my core.That intersection has a roundabout, painted crosswalks, safe street signs and cone obstructions and she was in a bright pink shirt. There’s no way they didn’t see these people. I can’t imagine what would have happened otherwise…So glad babies are OK.

flimflam July 19, 2022 (4:08 pm)

Wow, that must have been difficult to see the aftermath. It’s shocking how disappointing and downright awful people can be sometimes.

Pat July 19, 2022 (4:01 pm)

It is completely unacceptable that a detective has not yet been assigned to this horrible, horrible case. Three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of attempted murder should be a higher priority.

M July 19, 2022 (5:25 pm)

I have little faith in SPD to get this figured out. Last time I witnessed 50+ mph and a shooting at this area they got half the details wrong despite numerous eye witness reports. Here’s hoping I’m wrong—we need justice and solutions for road violence. SDOT needs to be focused on designing better streets. This is a greenway and Stay Healthy Street! But it’s also the width of 4 cars with no side walk on one side, and very few speed humps. This type of driving should not be possible if we cared about people and designed for them.
Marcia July 19, 2022 (5:36 pm)

It is unacceptable. I’m sure SPD suffers from this. I just wish the Seattle city council could feel our pain.
- My two cents July 19, 2022 (6:48 pm)
  
  Let them know and vote accordingly. The Council as currently comprised doesn’t seem to have the ability to actually move things forward, too many of them are focused on headlines and keeping their job.
  - CAM July 19, 2022 (10:13 pm)
    
    Specifically what actions in legislation, policy, or funding has the City Council taken that have affected SPDs ability to investigate crime?

Jort July 19, 2022 (4:43 pm)

This happened on a “Neighborhood Greenway,” which the city describes as, “Neighborhood greenways are safer, calmer residential streets for you, your family, and neighbors. We make people walking and biking the priority.” Yet, of course, the city does nothing to actually make walking and biking a priority, except put up road signs. How many people need to die – or come close to death – on Seattle roads before our cowardly, timid politicians realize that anti-social driving behavior must be mitigated through changes to street design? Are we so afraid to inconvenience car drivers that we are willing to tolerate the loss of life? Apparently so, if you are in Seattle government.

Al King July 19, 2022 (7:13 pm)

Jort. Making roads impassable to cars also means impassable to emergency vehicles. Impassable to transit vehicles. Impassable to city vehicles. Impassable to delivery vehicles. Impassable to contractors’ vehicles. Betting you, and everyone else will be VERY unhappy with that reality. But I REALLY want to know how changes to street design will stop impaired or criminal drivers.
- Jort July 21, 2022 (12:29 pm)
  
  Do you “REALLY” want to know? Because, yeah, it exists and is quite functional. Somehow, in cities all around the entire planet known as Earth, these street design changes are made and buildings don’t burn to the ground, and deliveries still occur, and contractors still get to work. Is there something special about America’s firetrucks and vans and trucks that requires us to accommodate them at the expense of human life? No. There’s not. Traffic diverters on Greenways are low-cost, simple ways to prevent people from traveling at excess speed – they merely inconvenience cut-through drivers who don’t want to drive safely on 35th. These diverters exist all over the planet – and cities function just fine with them. Seattle can too, but our politicians are too timid and cowardly to take the heat for even slightly inconveniencing the operators of the most personally-convenient method of transportation available. In the meantime, real human lives are lost and threatened.
- zucchini July 21, 2022 (12:45 pm)
  
  See the Netherlands with traffic calming everywhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAxRYrpbnuAEmergency response times in the US are higher then they are in the Netherlands. The first reason is because US neighbourhoods are so extremely spread out that fire engines and ambulances regularly need to drive a long distance in order to get there. The Netherlands is far more compact so less distance to drive. Second; in the cities the emergency services can use the bike paths and bus lanes in order to skip traffic. And since we have a lot of those 2 things they never have to deal with traffic jams. Third; emergency vehickes have a special universal device that connects to all the traffic lights in the country. That way the traffic lights can detect where an emergency vehicle is coming from and give that way green light.Response times in the city usually never go above 6 to 8 minutes.
momosmom July 19, 2022 (7:22 pm)

Jort>>>Please don’t classify that ALL CAR DRIVERS are like these idiots that almost killed these people, there are a lot of responsible law abiding car drivers in Seattle. I pray that her and her babies make it thru this OK and that the babies are healthy!
- M July 19, 2022 (9:09 pm)
  
  Car drivers hold a ton of power, wield 4000+ pound prices of machinery, are heavily subsidized, and have so, so much space given to them in our communities. It doesn’t matter if some are “safe” drivers, cars are harmful regardless. We don’t need to worry about drivers feelings—we need to focus on dismantling and rebuilding our dangerous and unhealthy transportation system, not protecting those in power (like me!)
Sam July 19, 2022 (7:35 pm)

This has to be satire
Oerthehill July 19, 2022 (8:32 pm)

I wonder if stepping up the case to include “hate crime” on the list would help. Sure appears to be one to me. Total disregard of another human life is hate.
- CAM July 19, 2022 (10:11 pm)
  
  That is not the definition of a hate crime and minimizes the reality of what a hate crime is.
- Seaviewer July 20, 2022 (3:57 pm)
  
  Hate crime? Also known as a bias crime. Very very unlikely. You’d first have to prove this was an intentional act. That itself is unlikely. Then, in order to prove the bias crime enhancement, you have to prove that the victim’s status as a member of a protected class led to the intentional criminal conduct of the defendant. In other words, you have to prove that the driver of this car purposely ran into this woman because of her race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. How on earth would any prosecutor go about proving either of those things? We don’t even know the driver’s identity. This is a hit and run and perhaps a robbery.
wscommuter July 20, 2022 (11:13 am)

Ah, the anti-car fringe – seizing on a horrific hit and run to bleat out their impotent drivel. The lack of decency is really sad.
- Jort July 21, 2022 (12:33 pm)
  
  You know, some might consider it even more “indecent” to continue to watch the body count on our roads climb ever higher, particularly when compared to other developed countries that are making strident improvements in road safety. Car drivers are responsible for one of the leading causes of death in America, and this is unique to our culture and our country. Why should we not confront that? Why do car drivers feel the need to defend a system that is clearly and unarguably resulting in catastrophic outcomes for human beings?

Just Curious July 19, 2022 (5:09 pm)

I’ve been looking around a bit and it’s next to impossible to find Seattle crime statistics with demographics included. Is there a publicly accessible source of crime data that includes this information?

WSB July 19, 2022 (5:56 pm)

You have to be more specific in what you are looking for. Demographics of people incarcerated, for example, you could likely find. Demographics of people who commit crimes, difficult because they’re not all arrested. Demographics of crime victims? That information may not be collected in all categories – but you could likely find a breakdown of demographics among homicide victims or others who have contact with multiple parts of the system (victims who are hospitalized for assaults, for example).
- Just Curious July 19, 2022 (6:45 pm)
  
  Thanks for your reply. I’m looking for demographics of people arrested, not victims. Demographics of people who commit crimes but aren’t arrested would be even better but that’s probably asking a bit too much of the system. I have found some demographic breakdowns of shooting victims in SPD yearly reports which tell one side of the story, but none for arrests. Any direction you could give me towards locating this information would be much appreciated!
  - B July 21, 2022 (2:57 am)
    
    Start with Googling the world wide information superhighway web for the keyword FOIA and add Washington state, arrest records, etc. Skip the ads up top. Go to the Gov sites and the agency you want will have, somewhere on their site, a link or FAQ for making public records requests. Be nice and be patient and you’ll get a response!
WS Res July 20, 2022 (5:31 pm)

Why don’t you just say straight out that you think Black people commit more crime and you’re looking for data to support your hypothesis?

Plf July 19, 2022 (5:43 pm)

Scum pure low life scum,

Smh July 19, 2022 (6:06 pm)

It’s so disappointing that people try to cut the roundabouts & make illegal left turns. I once was almost hit while driving around a roundabout right off the Alaska junction by a woman who tried illegally turning left around it & luckily I went slow enough to where she could stop & correct herself. I hope this woman can make a full recovery & that her babies don’t experience any future complications.

HS July 19, 2022 (6:19 pm)

This is shocking on so many levels.

Joan July 19, 2022 (7:49 pm)

I hope these criminals are caught and locked away for life. Nothing short of that is acceptable. Apart from the horror of it all, I see people take short cuts around circles and it really irks me. Those circles are there for a reason.

B July 21, 2022 (2:59 am)

I’m still shocked that Tuba Man’s killer did only 3 months!!

Purplepilot July 19, 2022 (8:56 pm)

Sad and infuriating at the same time. I hope your sister in law is able to recover and babies are healthy.Unfortunately over the past few weeks a group of kids/young men have decided to use the surrounding streets as their personal racetrack. Was hoping these were young kids making very poor choices, but it seems these people are much more sinister. Multiple incidents of racing in the streets at 50+ mph, including our street on 30th/Myrtle which is a private street owned by the homeowners that typically has 10+ young children playing on it on a sunny day.Other cars we have witnessed include a grey Toyota Highlander and a black Toyota Corolla and or Camry. We think these people live in the area and have been searching the neighborhood for the cars…will be on the lookout for a black Honda with the license plate noted.

B July 21, 2022 (3:05 am)

Alert your neighbors and get their consent, then lay some street spike strips from 2am – 6am

Purplepilot July 19, 2022 (9:41 pm)

Sad and infuriating at the same time. I hope your sister in law recovers and the babies are healthy. Unfortunately the past few weeks a group of kids/young men have decided to use the surrounding streets as their personal race track. Multiple incidents of cars speeding in excess of 50 mph on the surrounding neighborhood streets, including our street at 30th/Holden, a private street owned by the homeowners, often times with 10+ young children playing on a sunny day. Was thinking it might be kids making very poor decisions, but it appears these people are much more sinister. We have witnessed multiple racing cars on our street…a grey Toyota Highlander and a black Toyota Corolla and/or Camry. We believe the owners of these cars live nearby in the neighborhood and have been searching for them and will look out for a black Honda with the license plate listed in the story.

WSB July 19, 2022 (10:15 pm)

Important note – Matt, the victim’s brother-in-law, emailed again to say, ” I’m not 100% sure the car was a Honda, could have been a Toyota.” So I’m removing that specific point above.
Erin98126 July 20, 2022 (9:58 pm)

Yep. I live on 31st between Myrtle and Othello and this is the exact group that came to mind when I heard this happened. I would bet money it’s the same black car with dark tinted windows that has been reckless and inconsiderate for weeks, speeding, leaving their trash at the side of the road, blocking the road so they can pass things to each other through their windows…I wish the best for the poor woman who they hit and I hope these twerps (I’m being way too kind) are caught.

Seattlite July 19, 2022 (9:54 pm)

I hope the pregnant woman and her twins will be okay.Hardened criminals like those described in this article have no moral compass. These criminals do not know right from wrong or good from bad. They have no respect for life.

Mj July 19, 2022 (10:07 pm)

Plf – scum is a higher life form than the perp!

22blades July 20, 2022 (6:57 am)

The bar for human decency is in a free fall: the hit & run is such a cowardly, dehumanizing & selfish act. It seems like there’s one every other day now…

Lionfan July 20, 2022 (8:36 am)

As previous poster commented…..They have been racing up and down our private street. Black sedan. Tinted windows. That very same day around the same time on our street as well . plate we saw was CDM3–. Our neighbor called the police to report the reckless driving as we have at least 10 small kids playing on our street. I called the police as well. Not sure what is being done

marcus July 20, 2022 (9:01 am)

I am so sorry to hear about this and hope for a full recovery and healing. Now to rant a bit: Not only were they driving fast and expecting people to just get out of the way (very common now), they hit someone hard (this is expected when people drive with no concern for the general public), then they steal a dropped cell phone (this is not even human to be thinking of profit at this point), and then speed off to excape the scene(another point to not even being human beings). I have commented before but this is what happens when the “defund the police” crowd gets their way. There are bad people in society and this cannot be passed off as the poor unfortunates that society has passed over and mistreated. They guys are bad to the core and should not have the privilage to live in our society. I feel so sorry for the woman and her family. Just sad that good people need to share society with these ………..

Scubafrog July 20, 2022 (9:09 am)

I wonder if these guys aimed for her. Or if they were just high, and speeding around. Regardless, Seattle’s become a mad max of sorts. No sizeable police presence, criminals speeding around and shooting up the entire city, total bedlam. Businesses and people’s lives totally affected, because mosqueda/herbold/durkan et al decided they wanted to get rid of the police. Seattle 2022 goes to show that far left politics are detrimental, in action. Naturally, we also see what the far right does, too. Extremism is noxious, and has no place in America. We all suffer. I hope the victim recovers.

Alexis July 20, 2022 (12:13 pm)

I was also in a hit and run on Saturday and it was likely the other driver was high on something. In this case he was doing at least 50 on a residential street, blew past the stop sign and crossed the arterial to hit me. He did have the decency to ask if I was all right before running off. The attackers in the story above sound like psychopaths and my guy was probably an addict. What do you do with these people short and long term?

Delridge neighbor July 20, 2022 (12:33 pm)

I hope she’s ok and there’s no complications with her pregnancy.

Kim July 20, 2022 (4:44 pm)

Matt, please let us know if we can help you all in any way via the WSB. This is heartbreaking. Is there anything you/family need? Animal care? Pick up and delivery? Household chores?

Batty July 20, 2022 (10:46 pm)

I agree with Kim, is there anything we can do to support? Sending healing vibes to this poor woman, her unborn twins and the rest of your family – I can’t imagine how traumatizing this must be for all of you. I hope the despicable lowlifes get the comeuppance they deserve.