SEATTLE — Two teenagers, a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old, were arrested in connection with two intentional hit-and-runs in Seattle last November.
Police were made aware of two separate incidents that occurred on or around Nov. 26 in which pedestrians had been targeted by vehicles.
Surveillance video from the area of North 107th Street just west of Aurora Avenue North taken at about 1:50 a.m. appears to show a car targeting a woman and purposely hitting her. Multiple people stopped to help the woman before she was carried to the passenger side of someone's car, according to the Seattle Police Department.
The second hit-and-run took place on the 9600 block of Aurora Avenue North at an unknown time. Police believe it took place on the same day as the first incident. Cellphone video given to detectives shows a victim walking in a bus lane when the suspects struck the victim from behind.
The suspects drove away after both incidents. At the time, police were not able to identify the victims despite reviewing 911 call logs, hospital admissions and canvassing both areas for witnesses. After video of both incidents was distributed to media outlets, both victims came forward and confirmed that they had been seriously injured as a result of the hit-and-runs.
SPD detectives spent "countless hours" over a period of a little over two months attempting to find the teens responsible for the crimes and develop probable cause to arrest them. They discovered both vehicles used in the assaults had been stolen and were later recovered.
Shortly after 11 a.m. on Feb. 1, the Seattle Police Department along with officers assigned to the Community Response Group arrested the two teens they believe to be responsible in Snohomish County.
Both suspects were arrested and booked into the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center.
At Friday's first appearance hearing, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office decided to keep both teens in juvenile detention.
Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tamara Fundrella said the 15-year-old boy's alleged actions were “incredibly callous and cruel," finding probable cause for two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of felony hit and run with injury and possession of a stolen vehicle.
For the 13-year-old girl, the court found probable cause for two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of taking a motor vehicle without permission. Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Fundrella said described her alleged actions as “one of the most terrifying crimes the Court has heard of in a while.”