SEATTLE — The driver of the controversial "Belltown Hellcat" is not operating the vehicle while his mother, the registered owner, works on getting it into compliance.
That is according to an email Rebecca Hudson sent to city officials on Tuesday afternoon. Miles Hudson, 20, was charged in late March with two counts of reckless driving. On March 29, Hudson was also given a noise control violation notice, in which the city demanded Hudson restore the vehicle to a condition that complies with the requirements of the Seattle Municipal Code by April 15 and to not operate a vehicle that causes sound that violates that code.
"The car has had some issues and will not start on its own. We took it to the Dodge dealership and had it diagnosed. The part that they have to fix on the car is on back order and I have also put the car in a different shop to fix the electric panel," Hudson's mother told the court.
"The defendant Miles Hudson does not have the car in his possession, and I am working on getting the car fixed and up to compliant. We have had issues with the car and it's kind of hard to get everything done in a timely manner. This letter is just informing and responding to you that I am working on it and he is no longer driving the car or having it in his possession," she added.
The violation notice said Hudson would be fined $1,300 per day after April 15 that his vehicle was not in compliance, which would continue each day until it was corrected.
"It was almost nightly back in January. I'm on the 17th floor here. I would hear my windows rattle. It sounded like very loud backfiring,” said Belltown resident Chris Allen.
On April 16, a video was posted to Hudson's Instagram account showing an unknown woman driving the vehicle and revving the engine loudly, the city said. The video also shows the car "running several yellow or red lights in downtown Seattle."
The city's complaint says that on May 3, Instagram stories from Hudson's @srt.miles account showed him saying he is “switching cats with my homeboy Z.” The vehicle could be seen in the background of Hudson's story while he was sitting at a gas station, court documents say.
Two days later, a video was posted to the same Instagram account showing a woman getting the keys to the vehicle. She then can be seen revving the engine at 2:15 a.m., court documents say.
“It should be an easy slam dunk to deal with this,” said Allen. “One single person is affecting thousands of residents, and he doesn't care. He is toying with us. It is frustrating to see."
Since 23 days have passed since the April 15 deadline, Hudson would owe the city nearly $30,000 in fines if he were forced to pay the daily maximum for that entire period.
The latest document in Hudson's online case portal is a service confirmation that Hudson was served the civil complaint on May 10 at his Seattle apartment.