Hit-and-run driver seen sleeping in intersection leaves trail of destruction in Des Moines



DES MOINES, Wash. -- A hit-and-run driver who left a trail of destruction in Des Moines early Sunday morning is still on the run, according to police.

The driver of a 2016 Cadillac Escalade plowed through a chain link fence and struck three parked cars at a home in the 1500 block of South 272nd Street.

“It was about 12:50 a.m. and I was just about to fall asleep and I just hear a really loud boom outside. I just got so scared and I was like, 'What was that?'” said Yoselin Lozano.

The crash destroyed a memorial statue for a family member who had passed away.

The driver then fled on foot and has not been arrested.

“We were just looking for him all night long. We were looking in the yard, looking in the bushes, everywhere for him trying to see if he was OK because he just ran away,” said Francisco Garcia.

There were no injuries, but Yoselin’s parents would have been hit in their bedroom if the fence hadn’t helped stop the Escalade.

While Des Moines police were investigating, they learned another hit-and-run victim had spotted the suspect earlier sleeping in the Escalade in the middle of an intersection.

Josue Betancourt said he and a friend approached the SUV as they took cell phone video.

Betancourt was worried because he lost his little brother to a drunk driver four years ago.

“We start knocking on his window. ‘Hey, man. Get up. Is everything all right?’ He rolls down his window, just gives us a blank look and just takes off,” said Betancourt.

He said the driver hit a median. When they tried to block him in at 252nd Street and Military Road South, Betancourt said the suspect gunned it and hit his vehicle before racing off.

A short time later, they saw the Escalade crashed at Lozano's home.

Des Moines police said the suspect has been identified. Felony hit-and-run charges will be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.