Hoquiam High seniors escape hit-and-run mostly unscathed

May 5, 2020 3:30 pm
COURTESY HOQUIAM POLICE DEPARTMENT The suspect vehicle in a hit-and-run collision east of the Simpson Avenue Bridge Monday traveled for miles on a tireless rim after the wreck, according to Hoquiam Police.
COURTESY HOQUIAM POLICE DEPARTMENT The suspect vehicle in a hit-and-run collision east of the Simpson Avenue Bridge Monday traveled for miles on a tireless rim after the wreck, according to Hoquiam Police.

Two Hoquiam High School seniors, who had just placed their banners at Central Play Field, were the victims of an odd hit-and-run crash at the east end of the Simpson Avenue Bridge Monday, according to the Hoquiam Police Department.

As the vehicle occupied by the seniors slowed toward the bottom of the bridge for the stoplight ahead, a small, blue car rear-ended them. The victims pulled over, only to find the driver of the striking vehicle swerve around them to the left and travel over the curb and sidewalk and drive away, according to the police statement.

The suspect’s vehicle suffered a flat left-front tire in the collision but that did not stop the driver from leaving the scene, said the statement. Officers were able to read a partial license plate from the striking vehicle imprinted in the rear bumper of the victim’s vehicle.

The occupants of the car were checked by the Hoquiam Fire Department, but apparently suffered whip-lash type injury.

Another motorist called 911 as they followed the running vehicle on Simpson Avenue toward Aberdeen operating with a flat tire, until the suspect turned onto Duffy Street.

Aberdeen and Hoquiam officers canvassed the area searching for the suspect vehicle without success. About 10 minutes later, another caller observed the suspect vehicle northbound on Highway 101 from Hoquiam driving on a flat tire at 90 mph. The vehicle traveled about six miles before turning off onto a county road, according to the police statement.

Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s deputies and Hoquiam officers responded to the area to search for the vehicle. They located groove marks in the roadway consistent with someone driving on a rim without a tire. The marks led to a driveway where the suspect vehicle was found parked at a residence.

In speaking with the 79-year-old driver, she said she was not aware she had even been involved in a collision. As the officers spoke with her, it became clear she suffered from some sort of memory issue or impairment, according to police.

The driver was detained and transported to the Hoquiam Police Department, where she underwent a mental health evaluation. She was cited for hit-and-run of an attended vehicle and will be submitted to the Department of Licensing for a driver’s re-examination.