Nabbing hit-and-run suspects one reader board alert at a time

It’s been just over a year since the state launched hit-and-run alerts on freeway message boards. Is the program having much success?

I had forgotten that the state launched hit-and-run alerts in August 2023 until I saw one two weeks ago. I was rolling into Spokane on Interstate 90 (I-90) Thursday, Sept. 6, when the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reader boards along the freeway were all featuring a hit-and-run alert, asking drivers to watch out for a specific car that had taken off from a local crash.

The system has only been used twice over the last year, including the one I saw two weeks ago. The suspect in the first case wasn’t found, despite the public’s help. The suspect in Spokane was found by a person who recognized the car.

“It’s a little bit early in the game to know how effective it is going to be over time,” Washington State Patrol’s (WSP) Chris Loftis said. “Even if it’s just that one, we’re very pleased to get one really dangerous driver off the road.”

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There are specific criteria that are needed before a hit-and-run alert is issued, just like Amber, Silver and missing person alerts.

“There has to be serious injury or death,” Loftis said. “The collision has to be reported to and investigated by law enforcement. Law enforcement then asks us to put out the alert. The last one is probably the key one. We have to have enough descriptive information to help the public help us.”

In the Spokane case, the good Samaritan who spotted the runaway driver called 911 and reported the car’s location. Loftis said that’s all you need to do. Never try to stop a suspect by yourself.

“Do not engage,” Loftis said. “Call 911 and let us do our job.”

The one thing I noticed about the hit-and-run alert on the WSDOT message board was the amount of information. I spent more than a few seconds trying to read it all, something WSP is concerned about.

“We don’t want our alert systems to become cluttered,” Loftis said. “We want them to be signal and message and not just noise.”

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My best advice is to have your passenger try to digest the message if you have someone else in the car.

With only two alerts issued in the first year of operation, you might wonder if this program is necessary.

It was launched because of the number of hit-and-run crashes logged in 2022. That year, there were more than 300 serious hit-and-run crashes across the state, and the Legislature thought this might be a good way to track some of those suspects down.

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