Close call caught on camera: Street racer nearly hits pedestrian in Bellevue
Bellevue, wash. - Bellevue traffic cameras captured some disturbing video as a street racer was caught on video nearly hitting a pedestrian who was walking across a busy intersection.
The close call, which happened around midnight on Wednesday, shows just how dangerous illegal street racing can be.
Street racing is not only illegal, it jeopardizes lives.
This week, a suspect came within feet of hitting an innocent resident. Fortunately, the BPD caught the driver and arrested them for reckless driving.
Contact the BPD if you witness reckless driving across our City. pic.twitter.com/YVPSxMonzs— Bellevue, WA Police (@BvuePD) June 21, 2024
"I see this racing," said Pedro Paris, a Bellevue resident. "I think he’s escaped from the police or something."
Paris believes that he saw the dark purple car that was caught speeding through the intersection near NE 8th and 148th.
"I saw like the car, but just a little, not too much, because they passed by really fast," said Paris.
It was seen on camera blasting through a red light and nearly running over a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
Bellevue Police say the driver hit speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour.
"They were driving at speeds that were twice, if not borderline three times over the speed limit in the city of Bellevue," said Drew Anderson, Public Information Officer for the Bellevue Police Department.
Officers weren't far behind, as they had been following the car at a distance.
"Had that resident walked a little slower, had that suspect driven a little faster, it could have been a more escalated incident," said Anderson.
Ultimately, it was pedestrians that helped officers hunt the driver down.
"They helped us ID the color of the vehicle, which was purple, and who was driving the vehicle itself," said Anderson.
Police say they found the driver at Bellevue College, trying to remove his license plate. He was arrested for reckless driving.
"Very dangerous, because people are coming out of the stores and walk the streets, and the car's coming really fast, really dangerous," said Paris.
Police say close calls like that are becoming all too common, with Bellevue Police also arresting a driver in late April after they were caught on camera racing another car off NE 8th before crashing into a wall.
With cameras installed at intersections across the city, they have a warning to those who put lives at risk.
"If you do decide to drive at a reckless speed and hold public safety at risk, be prepared to be held accountable because it’s not going to be tolerated in the city of Bellevue," said Anderson.
Bellevue Police ask if you see someone street racing, contact them.
"We encourage anyone who witnesses reckless driving, street racing, captures it on video, not only contact us, but we provide them tools to upload it into our system. We can document this evidence," said Anderson.
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