From Bari Hill’s obituary
Police say a sad anniversary has passed with no updates in the search for the hit and run driver who struck and killed 80-year-old Bari Hill amid E Madison street construction last February.
A Seattle Police Department spokesperson tells CHS there have been no updates in the case.
Hill, a Madison Park resident, was struck and killed by a driver as she crossed Madison near the Safeway just before 5 PM on Sunday, February 5th, 2023. The area was crowded with construction materials from the RapidRide G project as the driver made a left turn onto Madison and struck Hill before speeding from the scene.
Off-duty registered nurses who happened to be at the scene began CPR on Hill before she was transported to Harborview but she would not survive her injuries.
Witnesses reported a vehicle described as a black work van speeding from the intersection westbound on E Madison.
Seattle Police accessed security video and street cameras that captured images of the suspect vehicle and shared the pictures with the public in hopes of tracking down a suspect. Witnesses reported having seen the van around the area including in the 2100 block of E Denny Way, the 2200 block of E Madison, and near Miller Playfield.
Family also posted flyers in the neighborhood asking for witnesses or people with information to come forward. Hill’s family also said they hired a private investigator to “assist in the arrest and conviction of the driver.”
A few days later, the van was found by police ditched near Golden Gardens Park in Ballard but there were no announced arrests.
Hill’s 2023 death came amid a surge in Seattle traffic deaths that has accompanied the pandemic and has been especially dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists despite the city’s efforts to provide more resources like bike lanes and lower speed limits.
In her obituary, Hill’s family said she was a Seattle native who grew up in Madison Park and attended Garfield High School. “During this time, she was remembered for her time on the stage; theater was a lifelong love of hers,” they wrote.
“She had a great laugh and infectious personality,” her obituary reads. “Bari made friends easily and left an impression on people she met. For example, people would specifically request that she be their server when she worked at La Cocina on Broadway for a short time in the early 1980’s.”
There have been no public updates from police or the family since the van’s February 2023 recovery of the suspect van. A Seattle Police Department spokesperson tells CHS the investigation remains open.
If you have information about the van or the suspect driver, call SPD detectives at (206) 684-8923.
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Vehicular violence is still violence. Wish our city leaders (and broader city) held the same urgency and concerns about it as they seem to about other incidents of harm and dysfunction.
Hope the person(s) responsible are found and held accountable, and that our systems and infrastructures are improved so that this doesn’t happen again. May her memory be a blessing to her family and may they find some justice and peace.
People who flee the scene of a pedestrian/car collision, ditch the van, and drive like this will not be deterred by traffic and bike lane changes. They likely live outside the law, for the most part. It is a shame the rest of us must live, and sometimes tragically die, around them.
No, but infrastructural improvements can help keep pedestrians out of harm’s way & make it more difficult for drivers to do the crimes to start with. The idea that we shouldn’t bother improving our systems simply because this one perpetrator didn’t stick around discounts the idea that perhaps there are things that can be done to prevent this from happening in the first place.
Who did the van belong to?
A murderer