Police in Washington State are searching for the driver of a white, late-nineties Chevrolet pickup with a lift kit after he allegedly ran over two men, killing a young father celebrating his birthday. The two men had reportedly confronted him about his reckless driving in a campground over the holiday weekend.
According to The Seattle Times, “eight or nine” friends were hanging out at Donkey Creek Campground outside the town of Hoquiam to celebrate Jimmy Kramer’s 20th birthday early Saturday morning, when the owner of the pickup truck showed up and allegedly began doing donuts around their campsite like an ass.
Things escalated when the group—most of whom were members of the local Quinault Indian Nation—asked the driver to stop. The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office claims someone threw a rock at the truck as they argued—the tribal council disputes this timing—and the driver responded by deliberately going after the campers while allegedly shouting racial slurs and “war whoops.”
In the chaos, witnesses say the man “backed over” Kramer and his friend Harvey Anderson before fleeing the scene, killing Kramer.
The driver is reportedly a white man in his mid-30s with dark hair and a trimmed beard, and police say there may have been two passengers in the truck, one of whom reportedly screamed for him to stop before he struck the two men.
“The witnesses there felt [the driver] was intentionally trying to run these subjects over,” Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Brad Johansson said. “This was willful.”
Tribal officials are calling Kramer, a commercial fisherman and father of two, a hero for saving Anderson’s life by pushing him out of the truck’s direct path.
“He was just a really good boy,” former Quinault police chief Larry Ralston, whose daughter raised Kramer since childhood, told The Seattle Times. “I have confidence that the law enforcement in Grays Harbor County will honor him by bringing closure to this investigation.”
The white Chevrolet C/K truck is reportedly very similar in appearance to the handout photo up top provided by law enforcement, with an extended cab, large tires, and a lift kit. If you have any tips, please contact the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office at 360-533-8765.
UPDATE: Late Tuesday night, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office announced they had arrested a 30-year-old Hoquiam man on charges of second-degree murder and seized a white pickup that was possibly used in the crime.