Man gets in argument with couple, rams truck into side of their car, flees on foot

The drivers of two vehicles got into a verbal altercation Wednesday night before one of them rammed their truck into the side of the other’s car and then fled the scene on foot.

Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the incident, but had trouble funding out what happened from the couple that owned the struck vehicle.

The couple, a 38-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, would not tell officers what was said between the two parties before the truck driver decided to hit their Honda Civic. Both victims knew the man who hit them and said there was an ongoing dispute with him, but would not go into further details with officers, Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Cameron Simper said.

“There was history between the parties and this ongoing dispute culminated in this hit-and-run,” Simper told The Olympian.

The 39-year-old man who drove his Ford F-250 into the side of the Honda caused extensive damage to the entire passenger side of the car and then fled the scene on foot, Simper said.

When officers arrived, the man was already gone but his truck was still there. This gave them the opportunity to run his plates, identify the driver, impound his truck and refer the case to the Thurston County Prosecutor for charges.

Officers referred the incident to the prosecutor as a hit-and-run rather than vehicular assault or something more severe because of the lack of cooperation from the victims, Simper said.

This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 9:57 AM.