Man arrested for vehicular homicide after October I-90 road rage crash

After being released from the hospital, the driver in an October road rage crash on Interstate 90 that left his passenger dead was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide Wednesday.

Casey L. Walker, 40, is being held in Spokane County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

On the afternoon of Oct. 30, Walker was driving a 1968 Jeepster Commando west on Interstate 90 just east of Spokane, according to court documents. Walker was driving erratically in the middle lane, passing a vehicle and then aggressively cutting in front of it, according to court documents.

Walker pulled up alongside a Dodge Ram pickup in the left lane and began yelling at the driver, Shane Gustin, according to court documents. Walker allegedly got within a tire width of the truck before speeding ahead, then jerking into the pickup truck’s lane without warning, Gustin told the Washington State Patrol.

When Walker cut off the pickup truck, he clipped the right front of the truck with the left rear corner of his Jeepster, causing the Jeepster to roll into the median, according to court documents.

The Jeepster slid on top of the median before hitting a seam in the barrier and violently rolling over, according to court documents. When the Jeepster rolled, Walker was thrown, landing in the middle of I-90.

Walker’s passenger, Lynn K. Chapman, 50, was also thrown but was pinned under the car when it rolled, according to court documents. After the Jeepster came to rest, it almost immediately caught on fire. Chapman was declared dead on the scene.

Chapman and Walker were not wearing seat belts, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Walker sustained critical injuries, according to court records, and required surgery after the crash.

When interviewed by WSP troopers, Walker said he and Chapman had gone to Carpenters Union Hall and cashed out an annuity just before the crash. He told the trooper he was planning to use the money to get out of Washington and join his girlfriend and daughter in Hawaii, where they had recently purchased land.

Earlier, Walker also allegedly attempted to strangle a tenant at a building he rents and tried to rob her, according to court documents. The incident happened in September, and Walker was out on bail at the time of the collision.

His arraignment on the vehicular homicide charge is scheduled for Dec. 1.