Weekend hit and run leads to arrest

19-year-old Broadmoor woman taken into custody

A woman claiming that she had been the victim of a hit-and-run car accident was arrested by Seattle Police on Saturday after it became evident that her story didn't quite check out.  Investigating officers determined that the supposed victim was, instead, the likely perpetrator of an early-morning hit and run involving three parked vehicles at 42nd and E. Madison (two of which are shown in the photo above).

It was at approximately 1:30 am on the morning of January 20 that an unknown vehicle smashed into the three cars parked in front of Madison House Real Estate (4227 E. Madison St.). The owner of one of the cars later happened upon the scene and began his own investigation, noticing that there were car parts on the street that did not appear to have come from any of the damaged vehicles.  After using his cell phone to check part numbers against an online database, according to the police report, the victim determined that the suspect must have been driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was now missing a front bumper.

A friend of the victim agreed to drive around the neighborhood to see if he could find a car matching that description and later called the victim to state either that he had seen the car entering Broadmoor through the gate on E. Madison or he had noticed the car parked on the street inside Broadmoor (the police report is unclear). The victim's friend was reportedly told by the gate guard that he was not allowed to enter Broadmoor.  The friend also reported that the guard told him that he had not witnessed any damaged vehicles entering Broadmoor through the front gate.

Meanwhile, the police had been called to a residence in Broadmoor to investigate a report from a female resident that her car had been hit by an unknown "lady" as she was driving somewhere in the vicinity of Leschi.  The officer investigating the 42nd and Madison accident, learning that his fellow officer was investigating a hit and run involving a Jeep Grand Cherokee in Broadmoor, made the trip down the street to the gated community. He took with him the suspect bumper found at the accident site.  As it happened, the bumper fit the Jeep Grand Cherokee that had been driven by the supposed Broadmoor hit-and-run victim. This, in spite of the fact that the woman reportedly claimed to the officers that she had not collided with any cars in Madison Park.

The police report states that when the gate guard was interviewed by police he admitted that he had seen a damaged car enter Broadmoor that morning, stating that it was a "known vehicle" and that he would recognize the driver on sight. He also stated, according to the police report, that he smelled alcohol on the breath of the female driver. He volunteered to officers that he had video footage of the car returning to Broadmoor following the accident.

After further investigation, the officers placed the woman under arrest for hit and run (causing an accident and leaving the scene) and took her to the station, where she was booked.

[Photo by anonymous blog reader.]

Update to Original Posting:  The owner of the silver car in the above photo has since contacted MPB and revealed that his friend, in fact, was able to enter Broadmoor on the morning in question, for the purposes of turning his vehicle around and exiting the area (rather than having to back out from the gated entrance).  While making his u-turn, his friend, the victim states, was able to take this photo of the suspect's vehicle which had been abandoned just inside the gate area of Broadmoor.

As is obvious from the photo, the car was virtually un-driveable, which is certainly why it was abandoned by its driver at that point.