Troopers believe man was drinking before he hit, killed pedestrian in Spokane Valley

A pedestrian who was struck and killed in a hit-and-run last month in Spokane Valley was identified as 48-year-old Rogelio Santiago Sanchez, according to Washington State Patrol.

The driver, 35-year-old Kasey C. Kimble, of Spokane Valley, is accused of fleeing the scene before law enforcement arrested him in north Spokane on suspicion of vehicular homicide, according to court documents.

Kimble was driving a 2014 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup shortly before 1:30 a.m. Feb. 21 when he struck Sanchez in the road on Pines Road near Boone Avenue before continuing north on Pines, WSP wrote in a news release.

Witnesses told WSP troopers they didn’t see the crash but found a pedestrian lying in the road, according to court records. He had severe facial trauma and was struggling to breathe. He died at the scene.

Flock cameras picked up the Dodge driving in north Spokane, according to court documents. A Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputy called the truck’s registered owner who answered the phone and sounded intoxicated but claimed the truck was at home. Deputies drove to the owner’s home and noticed the truck was not there.

Another Flock camera located the vehicle traveling on Market Street near Freya Street about 30 minutes after the fatal crash. A deputy saw the truck about 10 minutes later driving on Colton Street, where it stopped in the middle of Magnesium Road. The driver reversed before continuing east on Magnesium.

The deputy stopped the vehicle on Shiloh Hills Drive and Antietam Drive, not far from Magnesium and Nevada Street in north Spokane, and detained Kimble.

A trooper who responded to the stop reported Kimble’s breath smelled of “intoxicants,” according to court records. Kimble told the trooper he had not been drinking that night. Kimble declined to perform field sobriety tests.

The truck was missing the driver’s side-view mirror, which troopers found at the intersection where Sanchez was hit.

Kimble faces charges of vehicular homicide and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.

He posted a $50,000 bond and is set for trial in May.