Seattle police search for hit-and-run driver in West Seattle

SEATTLE -- Seattle police are looking for a driver who hit a jogger and then took off.

It happened early Saturday morning in the 2300 block of Fairmount Avenue Southwest in West Seattle.

A fellow jogger found the woman lying on the side of the street.

"I can't imagine that someone would just do that and leave them there,” neighbor Julie Ambrose said.

Ambrose was on her way to go for a run herself when she spotted the jogger.

"Saw this woman lying on the side road and she wasn't moving. She was breathing but she wasn't responding to us. She was really, very obviously seriously injured,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose called 911 and stayed with the woman until help arrived.

It was an experience, she says, she will never forget.

"It was really horrible and I replayed that scene in my head over and over again all day yesterday and a lot of today. It’s been pretty much just completely pre-occupying my thoughts,” Ambrose said.

There were no witnesses and police have few clues as to what happened, what kind of car hit the woman and why the driver kept going.

"It's a wonderful street to live on, but people go too fast,” neighbor Karen Brooks said.

Brooks owns one of a handful of houses on the street.

The 15 mph speed limit is posted and there are two speed bumps near the homes, but none farther up the street where the woman was hit.

Karen says the problem is so bad she's put signs on her trash cans and one in read pant on the roadway urging drivers to slow down.

"We have kids. They walk up the hill to school.  They're actually kind of afraid to go,” brooks said.

The street is very popular with walkers, runners and cyclists.

Sharing the road with cars, says Chris Gardner, can be a bit challenging.

"It is pretty narrow.  That's the one downside. You can see there's no shoulder on it. So that's one problem with it. I ride and run.  Like half the cars don't see you and the other half wants to hit you. You're in the city so that's unfortunate,” cyclist Gardner said.

The question now is who hit the woman and kept going?

"I would hope that it was an accident and that maybe someone just got scared and will rethink this and come forward and turn themselves in,” Ambrose said.

So far there is no vehicle description, but police believe it could have some front end damage but they just don’t know much more than that.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 of Seattle Police Detective Korner at 206-684-8927.