Investigators believe three men and a woman stole a $1,600 guitar from a shop in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood and then caused a multi-vehicle collision while trying to get away with it.
Three people have been arrested after police say they caused a multi-vehicle crash on Seattle’s busy Mercer Street during rush hour Wednesday while trying to flee a South Lake Union guitar shop with a stolen instrument.
Police have booked the group, two men and a woman, into the King County Jail on suspicion of multiple crimes, according to Seattle police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. A fourth person, a man, was apparently with the crew during the alleged theft and traffic collision, but police have not located him.
Police recovered a gun and machete from two people in the group, Whitcomb said in a news release. No one was seriously injured.
Investigators believe the foursome, whose relationships to each other and identities remain unknown, stole a $1,600 guitar from the store in the 500 block of Westlake Avenue North shortly after 6 p.m.
Most Read Local Stories
They allegedly took off in two separate cars, Whitcomb said, and then, “for reasons unknown, the suspects began chasing each other.”
The chase led to the crash on Mercer Street, which put traffic on the infamously hectic corridor at a standstill, according to police.
The release did not describe the location or details of crash, nor the number of vehicles involved.
After pausing commuters, one of the suspected robbers apparently exited his car and jumped onto the hood with the machete, Whitcomb said. Another man in the group responded by wielding a gun.
Officers with Seattle police’s West Precinct, which is located less than one mile from the guitar shop, arrived quickly and arrested those men and the woman, Whitcomb said. The fourth person apparently walked away from the scene.
Besides the weapons, police recovered the guitar and plan to return it, Whitcomb said.
About 60,000 vehicles a day use Mercer Street surrounded by booming development and between Interstate 5 and the Uptown neighborhood, also known as Lower Queen Anne.