Crash sends woman, child to hospital when hit by street racer

By KIMATV.com Staff Published: Mar 14, 2013 at 11:43 AM PDT Last Updated: Mar 15, 2013 at 8:19 AM PDT
Crash sends woman, child to hospital when hit by street racer »Play Video
Photo by Michael Spears, Action News

YAKIMA, Wash.  --  It took the Jaws of Life to pull a mother and her 4-year-old son out of their mangled car Thursday after police say a man racing by slammed into them on Nob Hill Boulevard.

"When I opened up the window to ask the man for his money, it just sounded like a shot gun, like right next door just a big bang!” said witness Amanda Ramirez.

Ramirez works at Burger King and heard the whole thing. Investigators say the woman was pulling out of the restaurant when another car t-boned hers.

"My heart sank, my brain froze,” said Ramirez.

Police say the impact knocked the 4-year-old unconscious in the back seat.  He woke up later and was taken to the hospital with his mother.

"It scares me because it can happen in an instance,” said witness Shannon Miller.

Detectives say they were hit by a Jeep Grand Cherokee and that the Jeep was racing another car down Nob Hill Boulevard at the time.

Police don't believe the driver of the Jeep actually braked before smacking right into the mother and her kid. Some witnesses tell police the driver was going in excess of 80 mph.

Yakima police say they’ll use technology to analyze the totaled cars to get a more concrete estimate of the car’s speed.

The other car in the race got away initially but police got an unusual helping hand.

A third grader who saw the two cars racing snapped a picture with the license plate included.

"They were going fast,” said 3rd-grader Luis Martinez. “And, then the white car was pretending he was going to move."

That tip led police to the other car and a second man for questioning.

"The little kid took action and I thought it was great,” said Ramirez.

Police say the Jeep's driver will be tested for alcohol and other drugs. He could be charged for his involvement in what some witnesses called one of the worst accidents they've ever seen.

YPD couldn't say what the charges could be for both men because it could depend on how badly the mother and her child were hurt.

Police told KIMA they were still questioning the second suspected driver.