Help of public help asked

to find hit-and-run driver

October 25-The King County Sheriff's Office asked for help from the public in finding a suspect and the suspect vehicle involved in a hit-and-run on Oct. 20.

The incident occurred in White Center at Southwest 104th Street and 15th Avenue Southwest about 11 p.m. A 21-year-old Seattle man was hit and taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.

The victim's fianc/ was with him at the time he was hit. She described the fleeing car as a dark green SUV-type vehicle, either a Jeep Cherokee or similar. The SUV had a luggage rack on top and a spare tire on the rear. It also had dark tinted windows.

There should be damage to the front passenger side of the suspect vehicle.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 206-296-3311 (24 hours), or 9-1-1.

Tukwila

Teen who ran from police

believed drowned in river

October 24-Tukwila police believe a local teenager drowned in the Green River while attempting to flee from police.

The teen, a suspected car thief, jumped into the river as police closed in on him. They never him come back up.

Divers scanned the river but could not find him. Police noted that even an experienced swimmer would have difficulty surviving in the cold water and swift current.

Divers spent hours looking for the teen. Officials said the river is cold and full of submerged snags.

"It's cold, it's fast. It's very murky so visibility isn't good," Tukwila Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Ewing told KOMO Television.

"With this river, there's a lot of logs and other debris in the river that could have caught a person, and we'll be starting to look in those areas."

Police said an officer had tried to pull the teen driver over but that he and his two passengers refused to give up.

When the three ran off on foot, officers gave chase and caught the passengers almost immediately.

The driver, however, got away, ran behind Barnaby's restaurant and and disappeared from view.

A restaurant worker told officers he saw the teen head for the river. When police found him on the bank and moved toward him, he jumped in.

A police spokesman said the teen swam down the middle of the river, then go under. Officers didn't see him come back up to the surface.

One-car crash injures

woman without seatbelt

October 25-A 25-year-old woman who was a back-seat passenger in a car driven by her brother was in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center after the vehicle hit a signal pole at the intersection of Interurban Avenue South and Southcenter Boulevard.

The 27-year-old driver was treated and released from Valley Medical Center, then taken into custody by Tukwila Police for investigation of vehicular assault.

Police said witnesses reported the car was seen speeding immediately before the accident, and that neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt. Alcohol also may have been a factor, they added.

Compiled by Ralph Nichols