Lacey Police seek ID of suspect who stole unconscious crash victim's wallet
LACEY, Wash. - Lacey Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a suspect who used a credit card stolen from a woman while she was trapped, bleeding and unconscious after her van was T-boned by a DUI driver.
"It’s horrible, it’s like I was hit by one cockroach into another cockroach," said Anne Paich.
She was driving through the intersection at 45th and Ruddell Road in Lacey on September 3, 2021 at about 8:45 p.m. when an uninsured motorist hit her van. Before first responders arrived, a bystander stole her wallet and ID out of her purse.
Lacey Police say this unidentified suspect stole a woman's wallet as she was trapped, bleeding and unconscious after her van was t-boned by a DUI driver.
"I think they are a mean and evil person," said Paich. "I don’t know how your first inclination when somebody gets injured in a car accident is to just steal from them."
Firefighters had to use the jaws of life to get Paich out of her vehicle.
(The Texas Tribune)
"I had a broken clavicle, so I had to have a plate and eight screws put in. I had about 45 stitches in my shoulder, about five stitches in my face, four broken ribs and a bruised kidney," she said.
As she was undergoing surgery, Lacey Police say an unidentified male suspect was seen on camera charging around $3,000 on her stolen credit card at Home Depot on Fones Road Olympia and at Walmart in Tumwater. "It’s incredibly callous, talk about victimizing somebody twice," said Det. Eric Lever with Lacey Police.
Surveillance video showed him arrive in a silver four-door sedan.
"We do believe that the photos are good enough that somebody will recognize this individual. We want to show that this is absolutely unacceptable," said Det. Lever.
Suspect seen in this silver 4-door vehicle in Tumwater.
Paich had to learn to walk again and is still struggling with her equilibrium because of the concussion she suffered. She worries that the suspect will victimize someone else again unless he’s caught.
"If he will do this to me in a wrecked vehicle, an unconscious bleeding woman in a wrecked vehicle, he will do it to someone else who is walking down the sidewalk with a purse hanging off their elbow," said Paich.
Crime Stoppers of South Sound is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who can identify the suspect. Call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or text the tip through the P3 Tips App on your cell phone. It is anonymous. There is a cash reward offered of up to $1,000 for information leading to his arrest.
If you wish to speak with a detective, contact Lacey Police at (360) 459-4333.
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