Suspect arrested in fatal hit-and-run
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Police here have arrested a man suspected of driving a car that hit and killed a 19-year-old man on Saturday.
Bellingham Police Lt. Steven Felmley said officers arrested 21-year-old Damian Scott Mackay for investigation of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and driving with a suspended license.
The crash happened just before 2 a.m. near the intersection of High and Indian Streets, injuring Steven Rhone of Kenmore. Rhone was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital in Bellingham, where he died a few hours later.
The car that hit Steven Rhone was driving in Bellingham along the northern border of Western Washington University. Witnesses said it was speeding as fast as 55 mph --more than twice the posted 25 mph speed limit.
Rhone was hit while crossing the street when the car ran a stop sign and sped off, leaving Rhone injured in the street.
Adam Garrison said he knew Rhone since elementary school. He heard the tragic news just a few hours after the accident.
"I just felt sick, and it felt like a bad dream I wanted to wake up from," he said.
Rhone graduated from Inglemoor High School last year. His friends said they've known the family since kindergarten.
"You give his mom a hug, you know, there's nothing you can really say, it's just, kind of unreal," said friend Colin Bebee.
Felmley said a tip from a citizen who saw a news report about the crash led them to arrest Mackay. The car that hit Rhone was also found, he said.
Police also arrested a woman who was a passenger in the vehicle Mackay was driving at the time of the collision.
Bellingham Police Lt. Steven Felmley said officers arrested 21-year-old Damian Scott Mackay for investigation of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and driving with a suspended license.
The crash happened just before 2 a.m. near the intersection of High and Indian Streets, injuring Steven Rhone of Kenmore. Rhone was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital in Bellingham, where he died a few hours later.
The car that hit Steven Rhone was driving in Bellingham along the northern border of Western Washington University. Witnesses said it was speeding as fast as 55 mph --more than twice the posted 25 mph speed limit.
Rhone was hit while crossing the street when the car ran a stop sign and sped off, leaving Rhone injured in the street.
Adam Garrison said he knew Rhone since elementary school. He heard the tragic news just a few hours after the accident.
"I just felt sick, and it felt like a bad dream I wanted to wake up from," he said.
Rhone graduated from Inglemoor High School last year. His friends said they've known the family since kindergarten.
"You give his mom a hug, you know, there's nothing you can really say, it's just, kind of unreal," said friend Colin Bebee.
Felmley said a tip from a citizen who saw a news report about the crash led them to arrest Mackay. The car that hit Rhone was also found, he said.
Police also arrested a woman who was a passenger in the vehicle Mackay was driving at the time of the collision.
