By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
GREAT BEND — In the Netflix smash documentary "Don't (Mess) with Cats," internet sleuths from around the world try to find the location and identity of a criminal via videos posted online. Local sleuths had their own opportunity to play detective after a hit-and-run accident in Great Bend early Saturday morning.
Brock Sherwood is the owner of the 2019 Jeep that was legally parked in the 3100 block of Forest Avenue in Great Bend. He heard the accident just after 2 a.m., but thought nothing of the sound until his girlfriend went to leave for the Special Olympics tournament later that morning.
"I went out there, and that's when I saw the tire and everything else," he said. "That's when I looked at her and said it's totaled because someone did a hit-and-run on us last night. It's beat up pretty bad."
Sherwood had four cameras installed in the Jeep. A Larned graduate, Sherwood joined the armed services and lived in California for several years. The habit of having a camera around stuck with him.
"It's mostly for insurance reasons," he said. "If you're driving down the road and someone runs a stoplight or a stop sign, you have video evidence of it. The big thing out there is wheels get stolen, cars are broken into, and people stealing catalytic converters is huge in California."
Sherwood reported the accident to police just before 8 a.m., then went to see what evidence the cameras might contain. The cameras captured a gray Ford Mustang striking Sherwood's Jeep at 2:04 a.m. A short time later, a red Jeep arrived at the scene, and the occupant of that vehicle clearly communicated with the driver of the Mustang. The red Jeep showed up two more times at 2:24 and 2:26.
"So we know, based on the evidence the videos gave us, the red Jeep knows something that happened," Sherwood said. "They would have some more information for us. That's when we made the post on Facebook."
Sherwood's shared the videos in a post on social media. That post was shared nearly 200 times by early Sunday, including by a local law enforcement page. The mother of a suspected driver was tagged in that shared post. Sherwood was able to track down the driver by Saturday afternoon.
"We were amazed at the response that social media had helped us track down who did the hit-and-run so we can get the insurance stuff taken care of," he said.
According to the Great Bend Police Department's accident report, 21-year-old Alex Randolph of Great Bend admitted to having an argument and going for a drive when his Mustang struck the Jeep. Randolph was cited for Failure to Report an Accident, Inattentive Driving, and Texting While Driving. He is scheduled for a court appearance in March.