SEATTLE — Two men were arrested in a road rage incident at Pike Place Market that injured three people, including the two suspects.
One suspect, Timothy Stevenson, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault related to the incident. Bail was set at $150,000.
The incident took place on Sunday just after 5 p.m. on Pike Place, the street running through the market that is often packed with vehicles and pedestrians trying to enjoy the Seattle landmark.
Arrest documents say that the incident started when two vehicles tried to turn onto Pike Street, which turns into Pike Place, from First Avenue at the same time.
Once the two vehicles were on Pike Street, the vehicle in front abruptly came to a halt. The drivers of the two vehicles got into a verbal altercation, according to the documents, with the driver of the vehicle behind eventually getting out of his car and throwing water from a bottle at the first vehicle.
The driver of the first vehicle exited his car, at which the argument turned physical. The driver of the first vehicle shoved the second driver, who fell on his back. The first driver got back into his vehicle, but the second driver chased after him and appeared to strike him through his open window, the documents state.
At some point during this altercation, a vehicle appeared behind the second vehicle. When the driver of the second vehicle began walking back to his car, the third vehicle moved in behind the first.
The drivers of the first and third vehicles eventually got into a verbal altercation on Pike Place between Pike Street and Pine Street, leading to the driver of the third vehicle smashing the back window of the first vehicle with a hammer, according to documents. The driver of the first vehicle allegedly took the hammer and began smashing the front windshield of the third vehicle.
Investigators said the driver of the third vehicle then appeared to run over the driver of the first vehicle, and the first driver was propelled onto the hood. With the first driver still on his hood, the third driver swerved his vehicle through the market, striking a woman who worked there and smashing through an area that would normally be filled with patrons, according to documents.
A crowd was able to break up the incident until police arrived.
The worker as well as the two drivers suffered injuries from the incident.
The third driver’s case was referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office. He is being held on $100,000 bail while awaiting a felony charging decision.
The road rage incident comes as the debate heats up over whether or not Pike Place should be vehicle-free. The market, now more than 114 years old, initially welcomed horses and carriages, but Councilmember Andrew Lewis hopes to bring about changes in 2022.
Lewis, whose district includes downtown, said late last year that he was aiming to collaborate with city partners on a compromise for bringing less vehicular traffic to the market.
Meanwhile, the region has seen an uptick in violent road rage incidents, especially on highways.
The Washington State Patrol said in early April that road rage shootings are happening more and more, with 20 happening in King County through the first few months of the year. That’s already nearly half the number of shootings that happened on highways in the county for the entire year of 2021.
Troopers say that one contributing factor could be that there are just more people on the road now than there have been over the last two years amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for the Pike Place suspect facing a potential felony, the prosecutor’s office said it expects to have a decision by Wednesday.