Man drives into crime scene with gun, drugs in car

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By KOMO Staff

Summary

A motorist who drove past a police barricade into the midst of a fatal hit-and-run accident scene near Tacoma on Friday night was arrested after officers spotted cash, a gun and suspected drugs in his car.

Story Published: Feb 2, 2008 at 5:57 PM PDT

Story Updated: Feb 2, 2008 at 6:37 PM PDT

Man drives into crime scene with gun, drugs in car

Arresting officers place the suspect into a Pierce County sheriff's patrol car after he drove into the crime scene with drugs, a gun and cash.

TACOMA - A motorist who drove past a police barricade into the midst of a fatal hit-and-run accident scene near Tacoma on Friday night was arrested after officers spotted cash, a gun and suspected drugs in his car.

The incident began when Pierce County deputies responded to a report of a pedestrian struck and killed at the intersection of E. 72nd Street and Vickery Avenue East by a vehicle that fled the scene, officials and witnesses said.

Officers set up a flashing barricade and rerouted traffic after arriving on the scene at about 10:30 p.m. They began combing the area for evidence that could help them identify the hit-and-run vehicle.

A short while later, a car heading east on 72nd Street drove right through the barricade and past the flares into the middle of the crime scene investigation, said Detective Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies shouted at the driver to stop. When he did, they approached his car and spotted cash, a handgun and suspected drugs in plain sight inside the car, Troyer said.

The driver was ordered from the vehicle and placed under arrest. Officers later discovered that he was a convicted felon. He was taken to Pierce County Jail.

His identity was not immediately available.

During the arrest, the man told deputies, "I'm probably gonna wind up on one of those 'dumb crook' shows," Troyer said.

Running light cover
The identity of the pedestrian who was killed has not been released. He is believed to be a 41-year-old male who lived in the area.

He was wearing all-dark clothing walking in the eastbound lane of 72nd Street East when he was struck, Troyer said.

Troyer said it's believed that the victim was likely hit by a full-sized truck or van due to the injuries on the victim.

"We have have numerous pieces of the vehicle left at the scene," Troyer said.

One of the vehicle parts is silver in color. There also was a running light cover that was left at the scene, shown in the photo above. The hit-and-run vehicle is reported to have a loud exhaust.

Crime Stoppers, at (253) 591-5959, is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person driving the vehicle.