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Motor magazine readers help police ID hit-and-run carJalopnik car hit-and-run fragment identified (pic credit Jalopnik)

Motor magazine readers help police ID hit-and-run car

Car website Jalopnik asked its readers to help police identify the vehicle involved in a hit-and-run that left a cyclist seriously injured
by Laura Laker
Thu, Mar 24, 2016 11:32
7

Readers of an online car magazine have turned detective, helping police identify the vehicle involved in a serious cyclist hit-and-run, from just a fragment of headlight glass.

A woman in Bellevue, in Washington state, USA, was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries after being thrown 100 feet in a collision with a car, and the police had little to identify the vehicle – and its driver – aside from the headlight cover.

However, online car magazine, Jalopnik, came to the rescue, shared the image of the fragment, which looked to be just larger than a man’s hand, and asked its readers to play detective and help catch the culprit. 

London bike courier injured in hit & run turns to crowdfunding to pay rent

In an article Jalopnik writer, Jason Torchinsky, said: "Is there any group of people better at identifying cars from broken bits than Jalopnik readers? No. The answer is no.

"So, look carefully at that bit of clear plastic, and help catch the cowardly bastard who nearly killed someone and ran.

He added: "This is a tricky one, but I have faith".

After a few attempts by members of the public, police have thanked one Jalopnik reader for proving Torchinsky right, having correctly identified the vehicle as a 2013-15 Honda Accord.

Cyclist Andy Wright spotted the Jalopnik article, and shared it on Facebook.

He said: Although I love cycling stuff, I enjoy other sports too ... but I have a guilty secret, I love reading about cars!

“A bunch of car nuts pooling their nerdy knowledge to solve a hit and run crime committed against a cyclist. I find it quite moving.

"It's a good example of the reality that most people are good people trying to do the right thing.”

hit-and-run
Laura Laker

Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.

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7 comments

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barbarus | 8 years ago
0 likes

This reminds me of the Bernard Righton joke: "An Englishman an Irishman and a Pakistani walk into a bar... What a great example of racial integration"

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FluffyKittenofT... | 8 years ago
0 likes
bikeandy61 wrote:

As said proof that the (often silent) majority of people are good, moral folk. As in all walks of life sadly our opinions tend to be coloured by the "loud" actions a the few idiots.

I don't mean anything bad by this, but my thought was that it shows how much enthusiasts for a specialised subject will leap at a chance to use their expert knowledge for something more satisfying than winning arguments with fellow obsessives on the internet. People like to put expert knowledge to use, for good or ill [for the latter, see all those computer virus writers and their ilk].

Also - how come they've never done this on CSI? There they'd just run it through some preposterously specialised computer database they just happened to already have, complete with an implausibly flash user-interface.

Edit - well done to all concerned, of course.

Avatar
WolfieSmith | 8 years ago
3 likes

...and....?  I assume the Police then check body shops and Honda to see which local has ordered a new headlight and then check phone mast records to put the car near the scene at time and date? 

Then they send Peter Falk around to ask questions. .." there's just one more thing that bothering me ..."

 

Avatar
Richard D | 8 years ago
6 likes

I can't imagine the police in the UK doing this.  Here, they'd mutter something about the motorist's "human right" not to be "hounded" (or identified) by social media, would shrug their shoulders then close the case citing a lack of evidence.

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brooksby replied to Richard D | 8 years ago
2 likes

Richard D wrote:

I can't imagine the police in the UK doing this.  Here, they'd mutter something about the motorist's "human right" not to be "hounded" (or identified) by social media, would shrug their shoulders then close the case citing a lack of evidence.

 

On the other hand I think that the magazine in the article is tracking down the make/model of car, not a named individual, so it isn't exactly 'hounding'.

On the other other hand, (and very OT) has anyone read 'The Circle' by Dave Eggers about the future of social media, the interweb, and hounding...?

Avatar
bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
14 likes

As said proof that the (often silent) majority of people are good, moral folk. As in all walks of life sadly our opinions tend to be coloured by the "loud" actions a the few idiots.

Avatar
Wookie replied to bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
3 likes

bikeandy61 wrote:

As said proof that the (often silent) majority of people are good, moral folk. As in all walks of life sadly our opinions tend to be coloured by the "loud" actions a the few idiots.

 

Change happens because of "loud "idiots" not the "(often silent)" majority

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