On July 30th around 6am, deputies responded to the Pho and Teriyaki in University Place for a vehicle that had crashed into the business, causing significant damage to the entrance. The vehicle was reported still sitting in the parking lot abandoned on the far side after a white Honda Pilot attempted to tow it from the AutoZone parking lot. Deputies were able to review surveillance video, and it appears the maroon vehicle had parked at the AutoZone the day prior, around 5:45pm. The driver of the maroon vehicle left the vehicle parked at AutoZone and told employees he would come back to tow it since it wasn’t working properly.
At 3:45am, a white Honda Pilot with a dolly can be seen backing up to the broken-down vehicle and attempting to tow it away. Around 5:15am the vehicle is finally pulled from the parking stall with a tow strap but only makes it to the other end of the parking lot before the strap fails. Around 5:50am, the driver appears to try and secure the vehicle again for towing, but things get a lot worse from here. The tow strap breaks again, but this time the vehicle rolls down the parking lot and crashes into Pho and Teriyaki. The driver attempts to tow it a second time and nearly gets out of the parking lot before the tow strap breaks a third time and the vehicle comes rolling back to crash into Pho Teriyaki again. A third and final attempt to get the vehicle ends with the driver and a female passenger eventually giving up when the vehicle gets struck along a retention wall and curb. The suspects realize it’s a total loss at this point, and they leave the car abandoned and flee the scene.
University Place Deputies are asking for your help if you know or recognize the white Honda Pilot or female in this case. There is significant damage to the Pho and Teriyaki restaurant, and this is being investigated as a hit-and-run collision.