A 54-year old man from Olympia is deceased, his 51-year old wife is injured, and a 37-year old man is in custody following an accident on Old Hwy 99 SE that occurred Saturday evening.
Medics and TCSO deputies were dispatched to the crash scene, at Old Hwy 99 and Waldrick Rd SE, just after 9:15 pm Saturday. Deputies arrived on scene to find that the driver of the causing vehicle had fled on foot, according to scanner traffic.
The State Patrol says that both vehicles were travelling northbound on Old Hwy 99, when the suspect vehicle struck the victim vehicle from behind. Both vehicles left the roadway, and came to rest off the left side of the road.
Deputies were able to locate the suspect hiding behind a fence a few blocks up from the crash scene. He is the registered owner of the vehicle involved, a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and lives in the area. He was booked into Thurston County Jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide, felony hit and run, and vehicular assault, according to jail records.
While deputies were busy locating the suspect, medics were busy extracting and treating the victims, who were were driving a 2007 Nissan Altima. The female driver was transported to St. Peter’s Hospital, while her husband, the passenger, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Thurston County Coroner’s Office responded.
The State Patrol, who took over the investigation, says that drugs and/or alcohol are believed to be a factor in the crash. The exact cause is still under investigation.
Thurston County Scanner, News, and Weather 