Man struck, killed by hit-and-run driver while sitting in the street
SEATTLE - A 32-year-old man who was sitting in the middle of the street was struck and killed early Sunday by a hit-and-run driver who was later tracked down and arrested, police said.
The incident began at about 2 a.m. Sunday when a witness reported seeing a man sitting in the southbound lane of 15th Avenue NE near NE 104th Street, said Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson.
According to the witness, the 32-year-old man was sitting in the road with his legs crossed, elbows resting on his knees and his head cradled in his hands.
As the witness was approaching the man in an attempt to get him out of the roadway, a 1997 Infiniti Q45 travelling south on 15th Avenue NE ran over the man, killing him. The driver of the car drove off without stopping, Jamieson said.
The hit-and-run suspect's car was soon located a few blocks away in the 2700 block of NE 98th Street.
Officers spoke with the 23-year-old driver and determined that he was impaired by alcohol, Jamieson said. He was arrested and booked into the King County jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and hit-and-run.
A female passenger who had been riding in the car with the hit-and-run suspect was not hurt in the incident.
The incident began at about 2 a.m. Sunday when a witness reported seeing a man sitting in the southbound lane of 15th Avenue NE near NE 104th Street, said Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson.
According to the witness, the 32-year-old man was sitting in the road with his legs crossed, elbows resting on his knees and his head cradled in his hands.
As the witness was approaching the man in an attempt to get him out of the roadway, a 1997 Infiniti Q45 travelling south on 15th Avenue NE ran over the man, killing him. The driver of the car drove off without stopping, Jamieson said.
The hit-and-run suspect's car was soon located a few blocks away in the 2700 block of NE 98th Street.
Officers spoke with the 23-year-old driver and determined that he was impaired by alcohol, Jamieson said. He was arrested and booked into the King County jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and hit-and-run.
A female passenger who had been riding in the car with the hit-and-run suspect was not hurt in the incident.
So.........don't sit in the middle of the road. The guy should've at least stopped to see what he hit. He should've called a cab, but then again, the cab driver would've ran him over still.
This is an story. I'm wondering why the victim was in the street. This will be interesting to follow and see what comes of it. While I'm not sure the driver saw the guy before it was too late, there is no excuse for leaving the scene.
Yet another KOMO story presented without enough information.
I'm usually first to condemn DUI's but in this situation, I'm not sure who the smartest kid in summer school is....
Why again did mom warn me about playing in the road?
any information as to why he was sitting in the middle of the street ?Â
 @justme ...Darwin...??
The person guilty of murder should see nothing less than 15 -20 years. But with our laws, he'll probably wont even do 5 years for murdering someone with his vehicle.
It's not murder, it's vehicular homicide. THere is a difference. Plus, the "victim" was sitting in the lane of traffic , in the dark, on a dark street. Just because the driver was DUI doesn't necessarily mean this was all his/her fault.
 @HallandOates ...I wouldn't waste the system's time on this incident.  The victim was probably more impaired than the driver...
@Big Don:Â
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So are you saying if the victim was drunk, it;s okay to kill him?
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Someone was TRYING to get the victim out of the street - we are lucky thgere were not TWO people hit & killed.
@Big Don @LocalLady @Big Why isn't it murder? Getting drunk behind the wheel leads to death all the time, so when you do it, you are gambling with the life of everybody who is in your path. If one is killed, it's hardly an accident.
 @LocalLady  @Big It's not OK, but it isn't murder; it's an accident...
@HallandOates More like two years.
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I feel bad for the person who witnessed the accident. Imagine heading over to help someone get out of the street and then them get hit and killed right before your eyes. Such a tragedy.
The DUI probably won't hold up in court. To much time elapsed between the accident and the police finding the driver. If the guy hadn't been drinking and remained at the scene then there would have been no charges at all. Alcohol and cars don't mix. Sounds like both people in this tragedy were probably drinking. My belief is even if alcohol didn't play a part that this crime still deserves the death penalty.
Would you support the death penalty if the driver had been sober, but texting?
@Blindman too much time elapsed ? the article says they 'soon' located the driver....and if he had enough ETOH he could register over the limit for quite awhile. maybe they did a field sobriety? maybe a breatholizer ?Â
It depends on what the suspect was doing at the time the officers contacted him. If he went home and started drinking then they will not be able to prove he was drunk at the time of the incident. Drinking is a side issue. The fact is he killed someone that if he had been paying attention it wouldn't have happened. These are not accidents. They are purposeful acts done by someone that resulted in the death of another individual and therefor deserves the death penalty. @justme
@Koawoodplayer A human being is a LARGE obstacle in the roadway - ok fine, maybe he didn't see him but how can you not know you have hit an adult man? That's not just a little bump like running over a stick, or even a cat.
@Blindman @justme I don't know if we can say for sure the driver saw this guy sitting in the middle of the road. Was the street so dark and this guy may have been sitting where a streetlamp was further down the block so he could not be seen by any driver clearly? And I wonder if the driver could not tell he hit someone; afterall, having someone sit in the middle of any road is unusual and unexpected.
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This kid may have a good lawyer who may get him off with a DUI ticket.
What is it with all you totally worthless DRINKING AND DRIVING LOSERS?????????????
Outside the bedroom, nothing good happens at 2am.Â
Jeez, I was going to say karma about the man in the street. Then I read the story and realize Karma intervened in TWO lives at once. That shi* cray.
WOW! In this scenario all you need is a kangaroo that escaped from the zoo driving without a liscense and you would have a made for TV movie.Â
 @BlueH20 Or a reality show.
All would have been legit if the driver was sober. Now he caught a homicide count becuase sone idiot was sitting in the street. Hope the homicide gets dropped in this case though.
A drunk driver in a hit and run, and a guy got hit because he was sitting on the street. Doesn't looks like we have any winners here.
Ahhhh, but there ARE winners here. The public is better off without these two running around loose.
 @Zoso If its the drivers first offense worst he gets is 6-8 months of work release at the RJC.
Most likely a suspended sentence if he seeks treatment.
 @Mesh Nope. The law changed. He's looking at about 8 years under current sentencing guidelines. He could conceivably get up to life although it won't happen.
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http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.520
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9A.20.021
Actually, the legal limit is .08, however, it is not wholly dependant upon the BAC number. If the Officer can show that the subject was actually impaired, he can still be convicted of DUI. How do you think it is done when someone is coked up, or on heroin, or meth, or weed? Look up DRE, or, Drug Recognition Expert.
 @Middle Ground After reading the actual code of the law, this cat is safe plane and simple.
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RCW calls for BAC of .15% at the time of the accident.
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legal limit is .008.
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A BAC of .15% is almost 20 times the legal limit, and according to the internet would result is permanent brain damage 99 times out of 100.
 @Middle Ground And I think that's STARTING to get to a fair sentence for killing someone while intoxicated. In this case, the fellow killed was probably intoxicated as well, but that doesn't excuse the driver from the need to stop after hitting something. If he'd have stopped, he might have just gotten a DUI. Maybe after 8 years, he'll have wised up.
Actually two lives gone here. The victim that was struck, and the driver of the car that hit him while under the influence.
 @DTMD Not in this state. The driver will get a slap on the wrist for DUI, and will probably get out of the homicide. Washington is way to lax on alcohol related charges. No wonder there are so many alcohol-fueled crimes.
The driver shouldn't be charged with homicide, his only crimes were DUI and leaving the scene of an accident; it is not the driver's fault that some idiot was sitting in the middle of the road.
 @LocalLady Not there it isn't. There are several low/no-light areas on 15th, this is one of them.
 @justmyopinion:Â
15tgh is a major artierial route at that point - the alternate to Roosevelt heading south, and well-lit.Â
They do have to look at the possibility that if the driver wasn't drunk, he might have been able to stop in time to prevent hitting the guy in the street. I'm not familiar with the area, but if there were street lights, he might have seen a full grown man sitting in the street if his driving was not impared. Not to say the guy in the street didn't bring this horrible tragedy on himself, of course he did, but did that mean he should have died... maybe not.