Seattle police officers arrested a 25-year-old man this evening on multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon after ramming his vehicle into a van with a family inside, including two children, causing it to set on fire.
On Oct. 4, at about 5:30 p.m., patrol officers responded to reports of a vehicle collision near Meridian Avenue North and North 40th Street. There, officers found the family of four uninjured, and two vehicles in the roadway, a van, and a sport utility vehicle (SUV). Officers arrested the suspect without incident.
The victims’ vehicle had significant front-end damage including burn marks. The Seattle Fire Department told officers that their vehicle was in flames when they arrived. The suspect’s SUV sustained minimal damage.
Police determined that both vehicles came to an impasse on Meridian Avenue North due to the narrow roadway. As the victim driver tried to find a place to move over, the suspect became “visibly angry, yelling through his windshield, and started throwing his hands up,” according to the police report. He then flipped off the victims and rammed the front end of their van.
The impact pushed the victims’ vehicle backwards. The van, occupied by a married couple in their 40s and two young girls, 7 and 10, in booster seats, caught on fire. The family managed to escape without injuries.
The mother, scared for the safety of her children, told the suspect to stay at the scene and she called 911. The suspect did not engage with the family any further. She told officers that she feared for her life when the man rammed into their car, “she felt it was done on purpose out of anger,” according to the police report.
In addition to property destruction, police arrested the suspect on four counts of felony Assault for using his vehicle as a deadly weapon. Officers booked him into the King County Jail. Police towed both vehicles from the scene.
Detectives in the Homicide and Assault Unit will be assigned to this case.
Incident Number: 2025-290798
