Thurston County man arrested in fatal collision moved victim’s body and left, deputies say

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man suspected of striking and killing a pedestrian with his vehicle Friday on a road south of Tumwater, the office announced. Deputies said the driver moved the victim’s body and failed to seek aid for him.

Deputies were dispatched to the collision at about 9:30 p.m. in the 10900 block of Case Road Southwest, about three miles south of Tumwater city limits. According to a news release issued Saturday, deputies found a man in his 60s dead at the scene. He has not been publicly identified.

The driver suspected of hitting him was arrested for investigation of first-degree manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence, according to the news release. Deputies said the suspect, a Thurston County man in his early 60s, has not yet been formally charged. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

An initial investigation determined the driver hit the man with his vehicle, then moved the victim from where it happened, placing him closer to a nearby residence.

Deputies said the driver knew the man he hit, but he left the scene and called other acquaintances who went to the crash scene. The driver later returned, but deputies said it was after law enforcement arrived.