MARYSVILLE — A possibly impaired driver whose license had been suspended hit a bicyclist and crashed into a home, killing a 97-year-old woman Saturday, according to police.
The 42-year-old Marysville man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. He was being held on $1 million bail Monday.
Police believe the suspect struck the man riding a bike and then sped into an apartment bedroom where the woman was, around 2 a.m. in the 8400 block of 55th Avenue. The 1971 Chevrolet Impala was “completely embedded” in the house, according to the Marysville Police Department. The woman’s daughter, also in the home at the time, was not hurt.
The bicyclist, 25, lived in the same apartment complex. He was listed in critical condition. Medics took the bicyclist to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett with life-threatening injuries. He had a leg amputated and possibly had a broken neck, according to court papers. He also needed surgery for internal bleeding.
The driver was treated at the same hospital and later released to police, who booked him into jail.
An officer who was called to the scene reported seeing the Impala minutes before the crash driving recklessly and doing donuts at the intersection of 51st Avenue NE and 84th Street NE. The officer was driving to another call to provide backup for a fellow officer who had detained two suspects in an unrelated incident. She flashed her overhead lights to get the Impala driver to stop driving recklessly.
The officer recognized the distinct tail lights of the car when she arrived at the crash scene.
The officer wrote that the suspect appeared “flustered and erratic and unable to focus.”
The suspect allegedly said he was being chased by four men with a gun who were in another car.
“I knew in fact that there was no other car in the area chasing him like he was telling me,” the officer wrote. “If he was being chased earlier he was definitely not being chased anymore at the time he made the donuts in the intersection.”
“Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with victims and their families of this senseless tragedy,” Cmdr. Mark Thomas said in an email accompanying a news release describing the crash.
Police are trying to determine if the driver was impaired before the crash.
“Officers’ initial investiaiton suggested that the driver may have been under the influence at the time of the collision,” the news release said. “That aspect of the investigation is ongoing.”
Anyone with information or who witnessed the crash is asked to call the Marysville Police Department at 360-363-8380.
Herald reporter Ben Watanabe contributed to this story.
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