Early morning crash into Ravenna business sends police on a manhunt through the neighborhood (UPDATE)

UPDATE (5:32PM): Katie on twitter (@9livesimages) alerted me to this posting about last night’s police activity on the Seattle Police Department Blotter:

Reckless driving, hit and run, stolen gun in Lake City

On March 7th, at approximately 2:30 AM, a North Precinct officer was on routine patrol when she observed a white 2000 Cadillac driving at a high rate of speed westbound on NE 75th Street.  The officer broadcast the information about the vehicle, and approximately one minute later officers located that vehicle crashed into the side of a house in the 6500 Block of 16th Avenue NE.  Officers quickly contained the area and a K-9 responded to the scene.  The K-9 was able to track and locate three of the five suspects from the vehicle.  They were taken into custody.  A fourth suspect was located walking away from the scene on NE 65th and was also taken into custody.  A fifth suspect is still at large. Officers recovered a stolen handgun inside the vehicle.  One of the suspects, a 23 year old male, was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of VUFA and Hit and Run.  The other two suspects, both 21 year old females, were interviewed and released from the precinct.  The fourth suspect, a 19 year old female, was transported to the hospital for injuries sustained during the K-9 track.

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Lucille Mroczek had finally gotten to sleep…when a car hit her building.

KIRO 7's story on last night's Ravenna car crash and ensuing manhunt (image links to the story on kirotv.com - CLICK TO READ)

Early Monday morning, around 3AM, a white Cadillac struck the side of Silhouette Antiques & Gifts (1516 NE 65th Street) before coming to a stop in the parking strip. Five people in the car then ran from the scene into the surrounding neighborhood. At least two people are in custody at this time, according to the KIRO 7 article above.

The car managed to take out the stop sign at the corner completely, and left a dent in a wooden wall at the base of the building. A down spout was also destroyed, but has since been replaced.

Silhouette's Lucille Mroczek (in red) talks with neighbors about last night's crash and police activity.

MyNorthwest.com has a similar story about the crash and manhunt, but incorrectly identifies the neighborhood as “Lake City” and gives an address of “5600 block of 16th Avenue.”

Ravenna Blog will be watching for the official police report and will update this post with any new information.

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Neighbors in the area: Did you hear any of the ruckus this morning? Tell us about it in the comments.

No injuries in last night’s house fire in north Ravenna (UPDATE)

The Seattle Fire Department responded to a house fire on the 7300 block of 23rd Avenue NE at around 10:40 PM on Thursday evening.

No one was injured in the fire.

The cause of the fire is as yet undetermined, but I will update this story when I have more information.

UPDATE (8:29 AM): I’ve heard back from Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick (via email):

The house fire at 7340 23rd Avenue Northeast was an accidental fire caused by a malfunctioning heater in a bedroom. There were no injuries. The estimated damage to the home and contents is $250,000.

North Seattle KOMO has a story up which includes a picture of the fire fighters in action last night.

View of the rear of the house, taken from the alley

As I arrived at the house this morning to take pictures, Engine 40 and her staff were on scene, watching the house.

Fire department staff will stay on scene until the cause of the fire has been determined. This is to both ensure that the building stays secure (“continuity of evidence” in case of an arson finding), and to make sure that the fire does not rekindle.

As I write this, there have already been three fire watch shift changes.

North side of the house

Fourteen fire department vehicles were dispatched to the house last night, which is considered to be a typical response for an incident like this one. The “extra” staff is on hand to provide support to those who are actively fighting the fire.

Various and sundry updates, and other news Ravenna can use

SEO be darned. Sometimes, you just gotta cram a lot of different stuff in one post.

Crime update:

Meeting updates:

Miscellaneous tidbits:

On November 20th, Eckstein will launch Saturday School, a new intervention program for students who have four or more missing assignments and a grade of D or E in a class. Teachers will refer students to Saturday School and counselors will call the student’s home to let families know that the student is expected to attend from 8:30 – 11:30 am.  Students who successfully turn in all missing work by Thursday afternoon after being referred to Saturday School will be excused from attending. The purpose of this intervention is to encourage students to take responsibility for their work and to give them additional time and support if they are stuggling to complete it.

There’s also a request for volunteer tutors during those same dates and times (November 20, and December 4 and 18). To volunteer or ask questions about Saturday School, contact Eckstein Volunteer Coordinator LauraLeigh Young at llyoung@seattleschools.org.