Van Smashes Into Several Cars On Capitol Hill

A driver was taken into custody after he stole a van and smashed it into several cars on Capitol Hill, said the Seattle Police Department.

Mark Jamieson from Seattle police said they received the first call at 11:47 a.m. of a minivan that ran into a parked car at East Madison Street and 22nd Avenue.

Police pursued the van as it struck several other vehicles Monday morning. The driver stopped at East Republican Street and Summit Avenue East and took off on foot, but police took the man into custody.

Coralea Dingley's car was one that was hit.

"I parked my car and stood up and he was jumping out the door and running down the street and I was yelling, ‘Where are you going? You just hit me, you ran a stop sign," Dingley said.

She said eyewitnesses jumped into action.

“Other witnesses were saying he was just flying down this street. They were on him right away, somebody else tackled him in the alleyway, and they got him," Dingley said.

The driver not only hit Dingley’s car, but left a trail of damage starting on Beacon Hill.

Richie, who did not give his last name, saw the van driving down the block.

“I stood in the street, he stopped, she asked for insurance. He made a move like he was going to park in the parking lot and give her the insurance paperwork -- he decides to back straight up," Richie said.

Richie said he got into his pickup and chased the driver. He told 911 dispatchers the driver was going 50 miles per hour in residential neighborhoods.

“Saw him hit a parked car -- dispatch informed me that they did not want me to follow him, SPD did not want me to follow him at that point," Richie said.

Richie backed off before the driver hit another car on Capitol Hill and went through stop signs.

The driver was arrested and is in the King County Jail. Police aren’t sure how many cars he hit because some of them were parked where there were no eyewitnesses.

The owner of the van told KIRO 7 it was stolen in December and it was full of work tools.

No one was injured.