We hear about hit and run incidents every day on the news and in social media. Sometimes they involve a fender bender, if you are “lucky.” But just as often the collision involves serious injury or even death. Law enforcement agencies, both local and the Washington State Patrol, are always motivated to apprehend someone who causes a collision and leaves the scene of the crash.
According to Washington State Patrol Trooper Heather Axtman, in 2017, District 7 troopers (that includes Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom and Island Counties) investigated 538 hit and run collisions. However, with the lack of information on fleeing vehicles, the troopers could only solve 28% of those hit and run collisions. That is only 151 hit and run collisions solved.
Information that often is reported can be fragmented at best. Sometimes the information that witnesses provide is vague, like “a blue four door sedan.” But Trooper Axtman emphasizes a key piece of information that can be very helpful in an investigation is the license plate number. With that number, a law enforcement agency can look up who owns the vehicle and where they live. They can also determine if the vehicle has been stolen.
Hit and run crashes can happen quickly with the offending vehicle leaving the area in short order making it difficult for witnesses to see what happened. The State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies appreciate any information that witnesses can provide. A license number, however, is the gold standard in helping them complete a successful hit and run investigation.
Washington State Patrol:
http://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/011918_WSP-Seeks-Additional-Witnesses-To-Hit-Run-Collision.pdf
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