At 1 a.m. Sunday, a cab had just picked up three passengers at Market and Ballard Ave. when a man — who may have known them — tried to get inside. As the cab was pulling away, passengers slammed the door on him, police said.
That’s when the man jumped on top of the cab, “and was carried on the trunk for a short distance,” police say. After falling off, he ran next to the cab. “According to witnesses, it was unclear if the victim was being dragged intentionally or merely got hung up on the cab and was being carried along,” officers say.
That’s when the man fell and hit his head on the street, sustaining “major head trauma.” The cab, meanwhile, drove away without stopping or calling 911, police say. And that means it’s now the subject of a hit-and-run investigation. Seattle Police don’t have the cab company name or plate number — just the fact the vehicle drove away eastbound on Market St.
If you know anything about this incident, you’re asked to call 911.
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A “cable?” (in first sentence) Is that a typo?
this whoe story doesnt make sense….Trying to picture what is going on while reading it is confusing.
it sounds like the ‘victim’ was inebriated??
the others in the cable slammed the door on him–obviously he presented some sort of problem.
then he jumped on the car? how is that a hit and run?
Ooops, thanks. Cab.
When I first saw this story, I was trying to figure out how the ‘victim’ didn’t cause this whole debacle. So far, I haven’t figured that out yet. Hopefully the cops figure it out so that the cab driver doesn’t get in trouble for no reason.
By far the weirdest local story of late – total disconnect between the headline and the description of what happened which clearly describes someone who is totally drunk acting in a reckless manner. And then, no witnesses have come forward to help clarify yet? … or the occupants of the cab who apparently were trying rather hard to escape this person? What witness then provided the description that we have so far? … weird story, weird reporting …
How could nobody have noticed even the cab company for Christ’s sake. Is there anyone in downtown Ballard at 1am that isn’t totally hammered?
People. The so-called “hit and run” law doesn’t require that the car do any hitting, or that the driver of the vehicle be responsible for the accident. It merely states that the operator of any vehicle “involved in an accident resulting in the injury to or death of any person” must stop and remain at the scene, and “shall render to any person injured in such accident reasonable assistance” (RCW 46.52.020).
Even if it’s not your fault—even if you don’t run into the person and they run into you—driving away from the scene of an accident is considered a hit & run.
Even if the cabbie or his passengers were concerned for their safety and felt they needed to get away, he should have called the cops. He may not have known the guy was injured, but he should’ve called the cops just based on the events prior to the guy cracking his head open. He needs to be found.
It’s disappointing that with all the people that surely must have witnessed this (it was 1 a.m. on a Saturday night in Downtown Ballard), no one’s come forward to even give the name of the cab company. Way to look out for your fellow citizens, Ballard.
Good clarification on that, but also plausible that a cab driver in the situation described would have little to no awareness of what was happening behind him. The sound of someone attempting to climb on your trunk could be the same as the sound of them slapping it hard with their hands, and the sound of them hitting the pavement would not be heard at all. Especially when you calculate the effect of several people in the back seat, possible hysterical, possibly having been drinking themselves, (therefore, loud), leaning forward and urging you to get away … A cabbie would most likely be looking into his left side rearview mirror to see about traffic as they merged into moving traffic or scanning the street in front.
Anyway, one possible scenario …
What about the question that the man may have been robbed and was just trying to get his wallet back ? Could explain some of his actions .
What’s truly bizarre is how lazy the cops are. You could have the cab company name in 10 minutes after reviewing any of the two dozen cameras aimed at that street. ATMS, Security cameras from any market, etc. Even a blurry shot revaling color motiff identified the company, then get that companys call log. Done.
not sure what city you’ve been living in, but it’s really quite plausible that with the way some cabbies drive, s/he could have driving away recklessly and yes the aforementioned scene (sounds, actions, hysteria) could have occurred.
another possible scenario…..
if the driver wasn’t aware of what happened at the time, he certainly is now. why hasn’t he come forward>?
All true Ballardites know the importance to not drink and drive, thus, we all walk home no matter how inebriated from Ballard Ave. It seems some visitors just can’t handle the B-town. Safe wishes to the victim, a head injury is a head injury. And c’mon, you can’t notice someone on the trunk of your cab?? Really? And then running next to it?? I bet this was a hilarious-if not dangerous-jackass scene to observe.
If he doesn’t read local newspapers (online or hard copy) , or listen to local TV news, he might NOT know. I know that a lot of ESL folks get their news from other sources.
However, I’d hope that cab companies are checking to see if any of their cabs were in the area that morning. Obviously, there are some very serious questions that need to be answered.
Certainly possible/plausible. As I implied, there are a lot of scenarios that one could imagine based on the incomplete and sketchy info that has been circulating so far.
I’m not a cop, but I’m about 100% sure they’ve already tried these things ;)
if it’s a brain injury, there could be some cognition issues as a result of the accident. From what I read on the Times, he was seriously injured. Speeding brain to pavement rarely comes out “a-okay”. We have no idea what his state of consciousness is currently.
Hope the guy is okay!
I thought cabbies were required to notify the dispatcher whenever they pick up a fare, for their own safety. They call in where they are, how many passengers and the destination. Not only does the dispatcher know, but the passengers know that the destination has been recorded.
Are you kidding me? 90% of them are haji’s who don’t even speak English and most likely are sleeper cells as well. Or they are in fear of losing their job.
Ted the troll.
I’m not a cop either and I’m about 100% sure they didn’t and won’t do any of those things.
Seattle cops have walked away from people positively identifying people who stabbed them while the person is standing there. You can hand them a case on a silver platter and inexplicably they’ll just shrug and ignore it. You have to threaten to make more work and more hassles for them in order to get attention.
There’s still some hard working cops, but far too many overworked jaded cops who would rather not do anything lest it keep them from being able to go home on time.
Unless they’re not flipping the meter and pocketing the money, or they’re not the licensed driver of the cab, but picking up their cousin’s shift to make some extra money. Ever wonder why a lot of the photos on the IDs don’t match up?
And the first words from the operators of said ATM, security cameras, etc. would be “Do you have a subpoena?”
Newsflash moron: the cops can’t simply demand video like that. Stop watching so much TV!
But hey, I know you’re the expert having spent how many years in law enforcement??