Suspect arrested in hit-and-run that killed bicyclist Michael Wang
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SEATTLE - More than 10 months after Michael Wang was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike, Seattle police have arrested a suspect in the fatal crash.
Wang, 44, was on his way home July 28 when he was hit by an SUV near the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street.
A witness told police the driver was trying to turn left onto Thomas when a line of oncoming cars began approaching. The driver quickly made the turn and hit Wang, the witness said.
The driver didn't stop, and Wang died at short time later at Harborview Medical Center.
Police quickly converged on the crash scene, but the driver was already gone.
A reward of thousands of dollars was offered for information about the driver, but nearly a year went by with no arrests.
At a news conference on Thursday, Seattle Police Assistant Chief Paul McDonagh said investigators have been working since the crash to try to identify the driver.
On Wednesday, detectives interviewed 28-year-old Erlin Garcia-Reyes and then arrested him for investigation of felony hit-and-run.
Garcia-Reyes, of Normandy Park, has been booked into the King County Jail and was ordered held on $500,000 bail at a court hearing Thursday.
Officials did not say exactly what led them to Garcia-Reyes in Wang's death, but said help from the community played a major role.
Court papers obtained later by KOMO News show that police began focusing their investigation on Garcia-Reyes in April after learning he was the registered owner of a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban that was believed to involved in the hit-and-run.
On Thursday, officers interviewed Garcia-Reyes at his home, and he admitted to detectives that he had been involved in an accident with a bicyclist in July 2011 and that he had fled the scene, according to court documents.
Garcia-Reyes then agreed to guide detectives to the spot where the collision had taken place, and it was the exact spot where Wang was struck and killed, court papers show.
Garcia-Reyes was then placed under arrest.
Wang rode his bike every day between his Shoreline home and his office at at PATH, a health-care nonprofit aimed at improving health around the world. Wang worked as a facilities manager and photographer for the organization.
"It isn't fair," Wang's widow, Claire Allen, said last year. "He wasn't finished raising his children, and I wasn't ready to lose him."
Wang, 44, was on his way home July 28 when he was hit by an SUV near the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street.
A witness told police the driver was trying to turn left onto Thomas when a line of oncoming cars began approaching. The driver quickly made the turn and hit Wang, the witness said.
The driver didn't stop, and Wang died at short time later at Harborview Medical Center.
Police quickly converged on the crash scene, but the driver was already gone.
A reward of thousands of dollars was offered for information about the driver, but nearly a year went by with no arrests.
At a news conference on Thursday, Seattle Police Assistant Chief Paul McDonagh said investigators have been working since the crash to try to identify the driver.
On Wednesday, detectives interviewed 28-year-old Erlin Garcia-Reyes and then arrested him for investigation of felony hit-and-run.
Garcia-Reyes, of Normandy Park, has been booked into the King County Jail and was ordered held on $500,000 bail at a court hearing Thursday.
Officials did not say exactly what led them to Garcia-Reyes in Wang's death, but said help from the community played a major role.
Court papers obtained later by KOMO News show that police began focusing their investigation on Garcia-Reyes in April after learning he was the registered owner of a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban that was believed to involved in the hit-and-run.
On Thursday, officers interviewed Garcia-Reyes at his home, and he admitted to detectives that he had been involved in an accident with a bicyclist in July 2011 and that he had fled the scene, according to court documents.
Garcia-Reyes then agreed to guide detectives to the spot where the collision had taken place, and it was the exact spot where Wang was struck and killed, court papers show.
Garcia-Reyes was then placed under arrest.
Wang rode his bike every day between his Shoreline home and his office at at PATH, a health-care nonprofit aimed at improving health around the world. Wang worked as a facilities manager and photographer for the organization.
"It isn't fair," Wang's widow, Claire Allen, said last year. "He wasn't finished raising his children, and I wasn't ready to lose him."
