EWU football player accused of crashing truck into Cheney apartment building, then fleeing

An Eastern Washington football player faces hit-and-run charges after crashing his truck into a Cheney apartment building and then fleeing the scene.

Keenan Williams, 20, is under indefinite suspension from the team following the incident on the night of March 9 at the Eagle Point Apartments on Betz Road.

According to witnesses cited in a Cheney police report, Williams drove his Ford F-250 pickup truck into Building 17 at Eagle Point.

Because no one was injured, Williams faces misdemeanor charges of hit-and-run to unattended property.

At 8 a.m. the next day, Williams, accompanied by his father, turned himself in to police.

Officials at Greystar Property Management of Spokane, which owns Eagle Point, did not respond to messages regarding the extent of the damage, or whether the company plans to sue Williams for the cost of repairs.

At the scene, Cheney fire and police officials estimated that repairs to the building would cost at least $100,000.

Williams, who is from Cheney, is scheduled for a court appearance next week.

Eastern coach Aaron Best has suspended Williams, a 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive end who’s going into his senior year. Williams started all 11 games last year for the Eagles and led all linemen with 55 tackles.

“We are aware of the incident and will cooperate fully with the investigation,” Best said in a statement released Tuesday.

“But until that is complete and the case is reviewed in accordance with EWU’s student conduct policies, Keenan has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities,” Best said.

Eastern begins spring drills Tuesday.

The incident began shortly after 11 p.m. on March 9, when Eagle Point resident Cameron Kubrock said he was sitting at his desk in unit 1717.

Kubrock told police he “heard screeching tires and turned to look just as a large, dark-colored Ford truck smashed through my window and wall a foot from where I was.”

Kubrock was showered with glass from the window but was not hurt.

The police report does not indicate whether anyone else was in the truck while Williams was at the wheel. However, Kubrock and two other residents stated to police that several other men were gathered around the truck after it struck the building.

Resident George Gabriel stated that another man he described as 6-foot-4 and red-haired pushed him several times and knocked him to the ground.

However, while the truck was still embedded in the building, Williams exclaimed, “I’m going to lose my scholarship,” re-entered the vehicle and moved it a few yards away.

Moments later, Williams and several other men fled the scene in different directions, several witnesses stated.

While police interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence, Cheney Fire Chief Tom Jenkins advised them that damage to the south end of building 17 left it structurally unsound.

Tenants in the three affected units were housed in hotel rooms for the night, then moved to vacant apartments at Eagle Point.