Car Accident Injury Lawyers
Many car accident injury claims that Seattle Injury Law works on are for people that were injured by another person’s negligence or recklessness on the road. Sometimes that means that the other driver was speeding, or maybe they weren’t following the rules of the road. In serious cases, the at-fault driver may have been driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The accident this article will be discussing was a rather unique one involving five juveniles that committed a crime spree and ended up crashing.
Five juveniles, the youngest of them being only twelve years old, have been committing a series of crimes since late April. Seattle police have a variety of incidents that they suspect are tied to these youths. Over the course of several weeks, the boys committed over a dozen robberies, auto thefts, hit and runs, and assaults in a crime spree reminiscent of something out of A Clockwork Orange or a Grand Theft Auto game. Police were able to ascertain the connection between these crimes based on witness descriptions of the suspects, as well patterns in how they carried out these criminal acts.
All in one day, the group are suspected of robbing a convenience store located in the 1500 block of East Madison Street in Seattle at gunpoint, attempting a separate armed robbery near Princeton Ave NE and Princeton Ave Way, attempting to run over a man at the Magnuson Park Boat Launch, and then assaulting a woman on Woodlawn Avenue North in the 9200 block. They were eventually caught after causing a car accident at the corner of NW 80th Street and 15th Ave NW.
The kids had been stealing cars throughout Tuesday, the 7th of May. The King County Sheriff’s Office’s Guardian One helicopter, as well as the SWAT team, worked with Seattle police to locate the juveniles and put their crimes to a stop. After pursuing the stolen car, which was speeding and being driven recklessly, the car T-boned a blue SUV civilian vehicle in the evening of May 7th after running a red light. They also almost struck pedestrians that were near the intersection.
Car Accident Law Firm
Police immediately arrested three of the youths that were still inside the stolen vehicle. The other two kids had fled the scene, one heading westbound and getting caught about a block away from the accident scene, and the other managing to make it 100 feet down the street before getting tackled to the ground by an officer. All five of the males had bandana-like blue-colored masks, although most of them weren’t on their faces anymore. The group consisted of two twelve-year-olds, one thirteen-year-old, and one fifteen-year-old.
Seattle Fire reported to the scene and found that nobody was seriously injured in the crash, but it could have easily turned fatal. The way that those kids were driving, it would only be a matter of time before they killed somebody. They had already hurt a number of people while committing their crimes, so they didn’t seem to have much concern for the well-being of other people.
The five juveniles were all arrested, an event that was recorded by witnesses, Seattle Police Department bodycam video, and KCSO’s Guardian One helicopter. All five of them are facing serious felony charges, including theft of a motor vehicle, attempted theft of a motor vehicle, burglary, malicious mischief, and potentially more charges. On Wednesday, May 8th, four of the five kids attended their first hearings. The judge, Joe Campagna, found probable cause in all of the cases.
The court ordered all four of the accused that went to the hearings to stay in custody to keep the community safe from their reckless behavior. This was recommended by juvenile court prosecutors and officials because of the fact that they had escaped house arrest before, and have a history of committing violent, serious crimes. The juveniles are also not allowed to contact each other, or be in contact with any of their victims. On May 13th, they are expected back in court. A spokesperson from the King County prosecutor’s office said that this is appropriate given the serious allegations against the youths.
Ordinarily, these types of cases involve older teens or adults. This is because usually the people causing accidents are ones that are actually old enough to drive. It’s shocking that this case involved such young people. At twelve years old, most of us would never have dreamed of going on a crime spree. Yet, a twelve year old was unfortunately involved in these crimes. That’s just the reality of the situation.
The twelve year old was in Washington’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration program, but was released in April and returned to his old ways, according to a juvenile probation counselor. The kid is not in school or getting an education, and is spending time with other youths that are committing crimes and acting as bad influences. It is unclear whether or not the parents of the five youths knew about their criminal activity, or why they had not taken measures to prevent it from happening. They may end up sharing some responsibility for the crimes.
When you’re on the road, you want to hope for the best and assume that other drivers are going to be safe. A lot of people are safe, and look out for the other drivers around them to prevent accidents. They follow the rules of the road, don’t speed, don’t cut people off, and don’t engage in other reckless behaviors. However, unfortunately there are drivers out there that only care about getting to their destination as quickly as possible, and put others into dangerous situations. Other drivers drive while distracted, more focused on sending a text message than their surroundings on the road.
If you were injured in an accident caused by a reckless or negligent driver, it’s important to seek out compensation. Seattle Injury Law’s professionals work to get justice for injury victims. We can help you get as much compensation as possible so that your future will be secure. Reach out to Seattle Injury Law to set up a no-cost consultation.
