The Bellevue Police Department is actively searching for a group of juveniles involved in a deliberate hit-and-run incident that left a 13-year-old with serious injuries. According to KING 5, the attack occurred on the evening of July 13th when a silver Hyundai Elantra swerved into a bike lane on Lake Washington Boulevard NE and struck the teenager. Witnesses at the scene reported that before the collision, the vehicle’s occupants had hurled a shoe at the victim and shouted at them.
The boy, returning from a swim at a local park, was quickly transported to Overlake Hospital. He was treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries and released on the same day. Fox 13 Seattle received a harrowing statement from the victim's mother, which read: "My 13-year-old son was a victim of an unprovoked assault while riding his bike home from the beach by a car full of youths who seemingly have no regard for human life. They side swiped him riding in the bike lane, causing severe damage to the entire left side of his body, but not without first throwing a shoe at him. This is a disgusting act of violence that could have taken my son’s life." The emotional plea continued with a call to the public for assistance in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The vehicle involved in the hit-and-run is believed to have been stolen and, notably, bears a makeshift red-black sunshade where a rear driver-side window should be. The Bellevaly Police Department is eager to identify the young female driver described as having short, black hair, along with the other juveniles in the vehicle. Details provided by witnesses did not further illuminate the identities of these individuals, yet the gravity of the charges looming over them include second-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief.
Authorities are urging anyone with information about this case to reach out. Detective Jeff Disney of Bellevue police can be contacted either by phone at 425-577-5656 or by email at [email protected]. The urgency behind this call for community assistance is underscored by the serious nature of the incident and the potential for the assailants to harm others, as expressed by the victim's mother in her statement to FOX 13 Seattle. The impact of this event reverberates beyond an isolated act of reckless endangerment, touching on the wider issues of juvenile delinquency and communal security in Bellevue.
