Girl, 17, seriously injured in crash; investigators looking into possibility of street racing as cause

WEST SEATTLE -- Police are investigating a pair of crashes in West Seattle over the weekend, one of them sent a 17-year-old girl to the hospital with serious injuries.

The investigations are still very fresh but police are definitely looking to see if street racing played a part.

“We were getting ready for bed and we heard a really loud noise,” said neighbor Lori Paulson. “It sounded like a motorcycle backfired going maybe 90 miles an hour.”

Lori Paulson and Brian Fink walked out of their apartment to see Brian’s car was destroyed.

“We came out to look at what was going on and I saw his car flipped up onto the sidewalk,” said Paulson.

The Honda, parked on the street, got smashed and flipped when police say a white Crown Victoria careened into at least two parked cars. Rescuers found a 17-year-old girl trapped inside. Lori and Brian watched firefighters pull her from the wreckage.

“She was looking around, she was conscious,” said Fink.



Witnesses said they heard street racing and now police say that is a part of their investigation.

“So that has been brought forward as a possibility that this collision may have resulted from some street racing,” said Seattle Police Detective Drew Fowler. “We still haven’t identified if that was the exact cause, but that is being looked at and our detectives are investigating at this very moment.”

Police said street racing isn’t just dangerous for other drivers but also for anyone else who might be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Street racing can be very dangerous activity,” Fowler added. “The increased speeds, the dangerous behavior can injure not only the people partaking in it, but innocent bystanders that are not partaking in street racing.”

Investigators arrested a pair of suspects shortly after the crash on California Avenue.

Police plan to test their blood to see if alcohol or drugs may have also been a factor.