Seattle woman says she was beaten after confronting people in van parked by her home

SEATTLE -- A Seattle woman says she ended up in the hospital, after confronting people in a van parked in front of her home for several weeks. She’s admitting now that she made a mistake in how she handled the situation.

Cynthia Nelson has severe bruises on her face and intracranial fractures, but she’s not sure how she got them.

“I don't remember what happened to me,” she says.

All she can recall is getting fed up with the van parked in front of her home, knocking on its doors, and then taking a hammer to two of its windows.

“Not my best choice, I guess.”

Nelson admitted that to police, when she came to later and realized she had been beaten. She says she didn’t mean to start a violent confrontation.

“That was my bad. I didn't try to hurt anybody, I just wanted to get them out of there.”

Nelson says she and her neighbors had been complaining to police about the vehicles parked in their neighborhood, and the needles and other trash being left behind.

“Time after time, we called police, they didn't respond.”

Seattle police say this is an active investigation. No one has been charged in Nelson’s attack, and they have not determined whether she will be charged for using the hammer.

Police do want homeowners to know that they should never approach possible criminals on their own. Nelson says she’s learned that lesson.

“Don’t go it alone, stay in your house, and call police.”