READER REPORT: Hit-run driver leaves one clue behind

| Crime | West Seattle news

The report and photo are from Beth:

I’m hoping the WSB community can help identify a hit and run car/driver.

Last night our houseguest’s car was hit around 9 pm by a hit and run driver.

We heard the loud noise but didn’t know what it was until this morning when we looked outside.

They hit the front of the car and the rear view mirror of our guest’s car and left the casing for their own rear view mirror behind.

Please be on the lookout for a vehicle (likely an SUV or minivan) with driver’s-side damage in the front and missing the casing for the driver’s rear-view mirror.

We live in the Genesee neighborhood on a street without a lot of through traffic so I’m hoping the car is seen nearby.

Police report number pending.

Please email if seen: hitandrunwestseattle@gmail.com

Rachel November 12, 2023 (8:39 pm)

I’m so sorry this happened. This happened to my car on Harbor Ave on a Friday or Saturday night. Nothing left by the driver but I just got my car back this week after two months in the shop & $22k worth of damage :(

Mike November 12, 2023 (9:24 pm)

$22k or $2k, because the very very top of the line Outback is $42k and bottom line is $29k, $22k in damage would essentially total the car out for salvage.

Jay November 12, 2023 (9:21 pm)

Post it here. There are a bunch of online communities where people identify make, model, and year from pictures of debris. https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthiscar/

Google Image Search November 12, 2023 (10:37 pm)

Looks like it could be from a circa 2006 Chevy Suburban or something similar based on this image.

anonymous November 12, 2023 (11:02 pm)

Not sure why it happened but someone hit my car too. A few days (week or two) later my car got stolen. Hope you at least have car alarm. Tracer.

Craig November 13, 2023 (12:20 am)

My best educated guess is a 2000-2006 Chevy truck/SUV (Tahoe/Suburban likely) based on this video that shows a similar mirror. https://youtu.be/LNCji8LZYJc?si=qmat1utiDqLHfeQV&t=257

Odd son November 13, 2023 (12:23 am)

Sad how careless, irresponsible and immature some people are these days.

CarDriver November 13, 2023 (6:19 am)

Did you walk/drive around the neighborhood? Especially if you’re on a quiet street it could very well be someone that lives close by. Don’t know if they’d disclose but you could try calling some body shops to see if they’ve seen a vehicle with damage to match come in for an estimate.

Helpermonkey November 13, 2023 (6:38 am)

When my car was hit and totaled the other driver left their entire front bumper with their license plate and the police still didn’t care so best of luck with finding the perpetrator.

Admiral-2009 November 13, 2023 (11:03 am)

Very frustrating, it’s likely the driver was not sober and had no insurance. State law requires motorists carry insurance, but enforcement is lacking. Also the City needs to cite motorists with expired tabs.

The dude November 14, 2023 (10:38 am)

More enforcement sure but stopping people for tabs is poor policing and wasting time and money especially when the majority voted for 30$ tabs and the legislature said sorry we don’t are what the people want

Admiral-2009 November 13, 2023 (3:29 pm)

Very frustrating, my wife’s car was hit a few years ago, fortunately still drivable, by one of these perps. I suspect that the driver was not sober since it happened in the middle of the night.

I hope the clues in this case lead to the perp and that the City makes them accountable and made to pay the cost of the damages!

LAdmiral November 13, 2023 (7:45 pm)

Our car was hit in front of our house in 2019 and the driver took off- likely not sober…they hit it so hard it totaled it out. Police came out for report but told us that even if we got info on who it may be they still can’t guarantee that anything would happen. Def sucks and sorry that happened to you/your guest.

WSNative November 14, 2023 (1:30 am)

Given the location and the location of the “road rage incident” just a couple of days ago, this could be the same side mirror of the Silverado truck involved. Approximately the same year range and style.stay vigilant.

Beth November 14, 2023 (11:21 am)

Thanks everyone for your feedback and sorry to hear that so many others have experienced something similar.

The police said that unless there is proof (such as video or an eye witness) of the incident, there’s nothing they can do – even if the car is positively identified.

Yes, I’ve run the neighborhood to see if I could find a vehicle with this sort of damage but got very discouraged when I heard that it wouldn’t matter even if I did find the car.

Ironically, we were watching the last episode of Dead to Me (where hit and runs feature prominently) when this occurred.

Be safe out there. People are truly driving crazy in West Seattle and there are apparently no consequences for this bad behavior.

Sorry, comment time is over.