Deputies investigating alleged road rage incident resulting in hammer being thrown

KING COUNTY, Wash. — King County deputies are investigating an alleged road rage incident in Shoreline Tuesday, which resulted in a driver shattering another driver’s windshield with a hammer.

Deputies said they got a call from a driver at 12:15 p.m. who had stopped at the intersection of 15th Avenue Northeast and Ballinger Way Northeast and called for help after a hammer had been thrown at his vehicle.

When officers arrived, deputies said the victim told them everything started as he was turning onto the ramp for I-5 from Northeast 145th, and the driver behind him started honking multiple times to get him to move. However, the victim said he noticed the driver did not make the light and had to wait for the next green signal.

The victim told police while he was on the freeway, the driver caught up with him and began honking and yelling, which prompted the victim to exit at Northeast 205th Street and Northeast Ballinger Way to get away, officials said.

The suspected aggressive driver allegedly followed the victim, drove past him and then stopped in the middle of the road, deputies were told. The victim told deputies he slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing and came to a stop.

The suspected aggressive driver got out of his vehicle and then threw a hammer at the victim’s vehicle, damaging the windshield, according to what deputies were told. After the damage was done, the suspected aggressive driver got back into his car, made a U-turn, and got back onto northbound I-5.

A witness confirmed the victim’s story, deputies said.

Deputies said they are looking for a white man in his 40s with long blond hair. He was driving an older model gray Jeep Cherokee with black rims.

Anyone who might have witnessed the incident is asked to call 206-296-3311 and reference case number C21023394.

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