Crash kills one in Spokane Valley, driver arrested on vehicular homicide charge

A driver in a Friday night fatal crash was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, according to a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Law enforcement responded to a single-vehicle crash just after 11:15 p.m. at the area of South Rotchford Drive and South Galway Lane, just southwest of Shelley Lake. Firefighters attempted to save an adult passenger, but he died at the scene, the release said.

The driver, 23-year-old Julien B. Hart, was taken into custody after the crash and booked into jail. According to the release, deputies could smell alcohol on his breath.

Investigators believe the car was traveling south on Rotchford Drive in the middle of the roadway, a 25 mph zone, at around 55 mph, the release said. A driver coming the opposite direction had to pull over to avoid colliding with the car. The car then hit the curb on the west side of the road and slammed into a fence, the release said.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the name of the victim.