Local

RV driver hits parked car, then hits man in Ballard before speeding away

A minor car crash involving a recreational vehicle and a parked car got violent when the driver of the RV tried to run over the owner of the other car, hitting the victim, who was in the residential street, before speeding away.

The incident happened near Northwest 54th Street and Sixth Avenue Northwest in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. The victims are saying the violent part of the incident could've been avoided if police had responded to their initial calls for help.

It started with a minor car accident Saturday afternoon that damaged the headlight and bumper of the Ramstads' parked car. They said a neighbor saw the RV back into their vehicle.

"This was a small part. We just didn't want the guy to leave," said Rachel Ramstad.

The Ramstads said the RV driver had no license or proof of insurance and wouldn't give them his name, so they called 911.

A neighbor took cellphone video of the RV and driver after the crash. You can hear Bob Ramstad in the video, saying, "We'll wait for the police. That's fine."

They said that, after about 90 minutes and several more 911 calls, officers still had not come. Then, the situation escalated.

"The RV started coming down the street," Bob Ramstad said. He said he was already standing in the middle of the road

"I was just, like, 'Whoa, whoa, stop, whoa.' And not only did he not stop, he accelerated," Bob Ramstad said.

"He floors it," Rachel Ramstad said.

"I couldn't get out of the way," Bob Ramstad said.

"So he leaped straight up into the air, which -- contact -- with him on the hood of the vehicle," Rachel Ramstad said. "I was horrified."

Bob Ramstad said he was on the hood for about 30 yards, looking right at the driver.

"Dead expression, staring straight ahead. He was looking past me," Bob Ramstad said. "He carried me down the street."

At some point, Bob Ramstad said, he managed to get off the RV.

"I remember laying on the ground, looking up, hands and knees, and he's roaring down the street, taking a right," Bob Ramstad said.

Incredibly, Bob Ramstad ended up with just scrapes and bruises.

"I've never had somebody really try to kill me before," he said. "He just did not care."

The Ramstads said that, if police had come when they called, the assault part of the incident could've been avoided. They said their story is another example of why Seattle needs more officers.

"They don't have the tools they need," Rachel Ramstad said. "It's really a failure of our city government and not funding the police the way they need to be funded."

The Ramstads are also sharing this story to warn neighbors that the driver is still out there .

"It's chilling," Bob Ramstad said.

"If (my) husband had not made the moves he made, he could've been under that van and critically injured, if not killed," Rachel Ramstad said. "This man is full-on dangerous."

The Ramstads shared photos of the RV's license plates, and the front and back plates did not match.

Seattle police said they are now investigating the case as a vehicular assault and hit-and-run and that, if you see the RV or the driver, to call them.

Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Sean Whitcomb explained why it took so long it took for police to respond.

Whitcomb said officers got dispatched to the incident involving the RV driver and the Ramstads, but then got diverted -- first to an officer- involved collision, and then to another crime in progress, causing about a 90-minute delay.

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