We all love the classic sleuthing tales of Sherlock Holmes, but what if he had had the internet? He probably would have been able to solve crimes in half the time. Well, Washington State Police decided to utilize the wonderful resource that it is the web, to solve a fatal hit-and-run and it paid off.
Trooper Johnna Batiste tweeted out a picture of a car part from a vehicle that killed an unidentified cyclist, asking the public for any information on the collision. The tweet found its way to the sub-Reddit category 'r/WhatIsThisThing – a thread where users have identified some pretty obscure objects just from a single photo. It didn't take long for the internet to do its thing. Reddit user and former Maryland state inspector, JeffsNuts, identified the headlamp as a bezel from a 1988 Chevrolet Silverado truck. A few days later his knowledge paid off and Batiste posted a Twitter update, saying: “WSP detectives made an arrest today for Thursday’s fatal bicyclist hit and run in Eatonville. Reddit users identified a photographed broken car part as a mid 1980’s Chevy truck headlight assembly. Local anonymous tip confirms and led to the arrest of a driver of a 1986 Chevy K-10."
People were in awe of how the former inspector had managed to solve the case from just one photo, so he nonchalantly wrote: “Anyhow, I’ve done a s**t-ton of headlamp adjustments, so right away I knew what that notch in the plastic was for. I first checked 1988 Ram 1500 trucks and by chance, there was a picture of a mid 80’s Chevy truck.”
Praise flew around Twitter and Reddit for Jeff, with one user saying: “doubtless there’s a family out there that’s grateful for your work bringing closure to this.”
Scroll down below to see how the whole story played out on the internet and share your thoughts in the comments! And if you want more riddles answered by the internet, check out this post!
A Washington State Trooper decided to ask Twitter for help solving a fatal hit-and-run
Image credits: wspd1pio
Posting only two photos of the evidence from the crime scene
The main clue was a mysterious car part
The tweet ended up on the sub-Reddit thread 'What is this thing' and one user quickly responded
Explaining everything about the part in detail
And identifying it..
Image credits: JeffsNuts
As a headlamp bezel from a 1988 Chevrolet Silverado truck
Thanks to Jeff's tip, they were able to make an arrest a few days later
Image credits: wspd1pio
People were amazed at the story and power of social media
