Tensions over fireworks lead to a confrontation that ended with a teen in the hospital.
It started when a neighbor said she was taking photos of all the debris in the neighborhood from fireworks on July 5th.
Even two days later, the intersection of North Madison Street and North 14th Street is still littered with fireworks debris, and one neighbor’s lawn is charred. Multiple neighbors described to KIRO7 a fireworks party coming from a single Airbnb, saying the street felt like a “warzone.”
But the biggest confrontation happened after the holiday.
“Someone got run over by a car - hit first, then run over by a car because we were lighting fireworks,” said a mom, who told KIRO7 they rented the Airbnb in Tacoma to celebrate Independence Day.
She said five adults and a group of kids were staying there.
The mom said that she and two teens were cleaning up the next morning when they saw a neighbor taking photos.
“That’s when I approached saying you know, is there a problem, why are you taking a picture of my car and my kids?” the mom said.
The mom and daughter didn’t want to be named or show their faces on camera because of family concerns. But the mom says they were starting to disengage with the neighbor.
“As they’re moving towards the gate, the lady puts her car in drive, hits my daughter. She gets on the hood of the car holding on to the hood,” she said.
KIRO7 also spoke with the driver, who only wanted to be identified as Deb, and she tells a very different story.
She said she’s a local nurse and was about to head into work while wearing her scrubs. She said she was just trying to take photos of all the fireworks debris in the neighborhood since fireworks are illegal in Tacoma.
“They came running as fast as they could out to my car, I was in the street,” Deb said on the phone.
She added that the trio was banging on her window and shouting.
“I didn’t see weapons but I was just frightened,” she said.
Deb said she wanted to leave the scene but heard the mom shouting.
“She yelled, jump on the hood, jump on the hood!” Deb recalled.
She says that’s when the 15-year-old teen did exactly that.
Deb sent KIRO 7 a photo, showing the teen smiling through the windshield.
“I kind of felt terrorized by them,” she said.
She said she drove backwards, then forwards – and the teen fell off the hood of the car, before turning the corner and calling 911.
She also said the video sent to KIRO 7 by the family is sped up, which it appears to be.
Deb added that she did not run over the teen, and would have known if she did.
The 15-year-old teen went to the hospital for scrapes and bruises but will be OK. Meanwhile, Tacoma police are urging people to try and avoid confrontations.
“A couple of things we want the public to be aware of -- again, fireworks are kind of a hot-button issue. We ask the public to not try to take matters into their own hands when it comes to fireworks,” said Detective William Muse, with Tacoma PD.
Muse said both parties called 911 to report the incident. Now detectives are investigating to see if any criminal charges should be filed.
Police are asking for anyone with more video of what happened during the incident to send it into Tacoma PD.
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