SEATTLE — Residents in a Seattle neighborhood looked on in disbelief as a bound man who was badly beaten managed to work his way out of the trunk of a car that had crashed into a home and burst into flames.
The 63-year-old man was reportedly the victim of a kidnapping. He said he was slashed, roughed up then thrown into the trunk of his car – but broke free when his captors crashed into the home Thursday morning, according to the Seattle Police Department, King 5 News reported.
Seattle officers discovered the vehicle on fire just after 5 a.m. on Thursday after it smashed into a residence in the 7200 block of 27th Avenue NE. Multiple suspects fled the scene prior to the arrival of police.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash in the Ravenna neighborhood, Brooks Mierow saw the car begin smoking and then flames appeared and began spreading to the corner of his home. He hurried to get his children and dog out of the house and to a position of safety as police and fire responded.
Witnesses told police that a man climbed out of the fiery wreckage following the collision.
“Then we heard a screaming of ahh, ahh. I think he was trying to scream for help,” neighbor Cheng Yu said.
Once the bound man freed himself from the car, Raegan McKibbon said she assisted the badly injured victim across the street.
“He was beat up pretty bad. They had cut his face with a knife and had beat him up pretty badly,” McKibbon noted.
The Seattle Fire Department arrived and extinguished the flames and treated the victim for his non-life-threatening injuries before he was transported to Harborview Medical Center.
The victim told police that he was assaulted by several suspects, bound and placed in the trunk of his own vehicle, King 5 News reported.
Further details were not immediately available. Detectives are investigating the case and have asked the public to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000 with any information.
