Police recommend felony charge for Coal Creek hit-and-run suspect

The Bellevue Police Department is recommending the King County Prosecutor's Office file a felony hit-and-run charge against a 58-year-old Bellevue woman suspected of being the second driver to strike a pedestrian in a crosswalk at Forest Drive Southeast and Coal Creek Parkway on Sept. 10.

The Bellevue Police Department is recommending the King County Prosecutor’s Office file a felony hit-and-run charge against a 58-year-old Bellevue woman suspected of being the second driver to strike a pedestrian in a crosswalk at Forest Drive Southeast and Coal Creek Parkway on Sept. 10.

A 34-year-old woman was legally using the Forest Drive Southeast crosswalk at Coal Creek Parkway around 3:24 a.m. when a Seattle man in a ’99 Chevy Astro made a right-hand turn onto Coal Creek, not seeing the pedestrian, according to a police report submitted to the prosecutor’s office.

The Astro knocked the pedestrian down, running over her legs and pelvis, followed by a 2012 Porsche Cayenne that also ran over the woman. The report states that driver, Sun-Ho Choi, pulled over to the side of the road briefly before fleeing the scene. The Astro driver stayed to assist the injured woman, according to the report.

The pedestrian was transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Police acquired footage from city traffic cameras monitoring the intersection to identify the Porsche, and Choi’s daughter, the vehicle owner, reported her mother as a suspect in the hit-and-run following reports by media outlets, the document states. Police later booked, cited and released Choi.

Bellevue Police have stated the pedestrian is expected to fully recover, and the victim was no longer listed as a patient at Harborview Medical Center as of Thursday.