Kent Police say they have impounded a vehicle they believe was driven into a fire hydrant on Friday night.
According to Puget Sound Fire, the water that cascaded from the hydrant flooded six homes and displaced more than twenty people.
KPD says they have identified a suspect in the case, but have not yet identified the person.
Several people who live at the complex believe the person who drove into the fire hydrant lives in one of the apartments and is a teenager.
Norma Abarca’s home was completely flooded. She’s frustrated the driver sped off, leaving gallons of water rushing to her home.
“You could have stayed and helped out what was going on. Why did you run away? You affected not just my family, but you affected my neighbor, and you affected everyone else,” she said.
Abarca remembers looking out the window and seeing water completely above the glass. The sight and damage sent her daughter into a panic.
“It’s hard as a mother to keep it together and to tell them and explain it’s going to be okay, even though you know that it’s not going to be okay,” Abarca said. She reported the incident to her insurance immediately, which almost immediately denied her claim.
Some families told KIRO 7 they were staying with other friends or family, the Red Cross arrived to help people, and one family was moving into another vacant unit in the building.
The fire hydrant created a fountain of water that rocketed into the sky.
“I have never seen a water fountain with like 10-15 feet of water,” Luis Martinez said, “I got lucky, I’m up on the second floor but my downstairs neighbor got all the water.”
Martinez offered his home to his neighbor, who ended up staying with family instead. He remembers seeing people opening their back doors to let the water flow through their homes.
“I feel for them because it’s all your stuff in your house. It’s everything you have. It’s not like there’s a warning like a hurricane where you can maybe pack up. You’re sleeping or you’re not home and you come home to that,” said Martinez.
If you’d like to help the Abarca family recover, visit their GoFundMe.
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