A late night cruise turned nightmare on Queen Anne streets when a 22-year-old scooter rider was hammered by a DUI driver, authorities report. The incident, occurring shortly after 2:00 a.m. near Mercer Street and Queen Anne Avenue North in Seattle, left the young man with serious leg injuries, according to the Seattle Police Department's Blotter.
The Seattle Fire Department was on scene swiftly, tending to the victim before rushing him to Harborview Medical Center where he's said to be in serious condition, yet despite the quick response of emergency services, the aftermath of the collision paints a grim tableau of recklessness – the driver, a 26-year-old male, reportedly switched lanes on Mercer Street slamming into the unsuspecting scooterist and then, in a bid to evade accountability, fled eastbound until cops pulled him over at 3rd Avenue North and Mercer Street, as detailed by SPD's Blotter.
Once the suspect was stopped, an SPD Drug Recognition Expert evaluated him and, sizing up the man's impaired state, slapped cuffs on him; he was then booked on charges including Hit and Run and Vehicular Assault. The suspect's alleged inebriation at the wheel turned an early morning drive into a perilous spin of misjudgement and now he's bunking at King County Jail, facing the music for his actions, the Seattle Police Department's Blotter explains.
Meanwhile, Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives are sifting through the debris of the incident looking to piece together how exactly the scene unfolded, the tragedy underlining the brutal costs of DUI-fueled negligence on Seattle roads, as SPD's Blotter records and in an echo of reporting by KIRO 7, the alleged drunk driver shifted from a simple motorist to a suspect in the blink of an eye after his vehicle collided with the scooter in a reckless moment that hurled chaos onto a hushed city street.
