Date/Time: 11/18/11, 1635 Hours
Location: Kirsop Road SW, 68th Avenue SW, Tumwater
Incident: The Fall of The Offspring Hood Ornament
The inherent tensions of the mother and daughter relationship have been well documented throughout the chronicles of history. As an evolutionary self preservation tactic, we as a species generally turn a blind eye to these familial spats, or file them away under the heading of “Growing Pains.” But, as an off duty Tumwater police officer observed, when the maternal quarrel takes place on the hood of a Jetta driving down the street, it is impossible to look the other way.
According to the police report, the family matters began 0.3 miles away from the official incident location, in front of the 49 year old mother’s boyfriend’s house. Upset that her cellphone had been shut off, the woman’s 18 year old daughter confronted her mother as she was attempting to leave the residence. A verbal flurry of fury ensued.
Mother, who was on her way to an evening class at The Evergreen State College, and “did not want to get into an altercation with (her daughter)”, got into her car and began to back out of the driveway.
Daughter then tried to remedy the communication breakdown by standing directly behind the car and blocking her mother’s exit. Naturally, Mother looked for another outlet and began this time to to pull forward. Keeping pace step by step, Daughter “moved around to the front of the vehicle and got up onto the hood” as her mother began to drive away.
Now perched upon the hood of her mother’s automobile, Daughter was suddenly at a loss for words as, “She was not saying or doing anything. All she was doing was just staring at (Mother).” According to Mother, she stopped several times in order to let her daughter get off of the hood before arriving at the fateful intersection of Kirsop Road and 68th Avenue.
As the mother/daughter duo came to a stop a the intersection, the aforementioned off duty police officer was approaching the same intersection in his personal vehicle. The police officer stated that as he slowed, he witnessed the car make a left hand turn at an estimated 10-15 miles per hour, sending the daughter spilling across the pavement. A single black shoe in the middle of the street was later photographed for evidence.
When detained by the off duty police officer, Mother stood calmly by where as Daughter wept and yelled in the street. Mother explained to police that she had stopped multiple times to let her daughter off, in between spurts of driving while “steering the vehicle side to side in an attempt to get (Daughter) off of the vehicle.” She then stated that her final left hand turn had been in an attempt to “Get her (Daughter) off my car.”
When asked if she would mind putting those statements in writing, Mother requested and attorney and was booked at Nisqually Jail on one count of Reckless Endangerment Domestic Violence.