Editor’s note: Above video was published when the suspect was still at large
SPOKANE, Wash. – The suspect in a fatal vehicle versus pedestrian crash near Gonzaga’s campus was arrested nearly one month later during an unrelated court appearance on Tuesday.
First responders found an injured man at Spokane Falls Boulevard on Hamilton Street on Monday, Jan. 6. Despite life-saving efforts, the victim died at the scene, police said.
Several witnesses gave officers the direction of the fleeing suspect vehicle, police said. Officers found an abandoned vehicle that they believe was involved in the crash about a mile away from the scene.
No one was arrested following the crash.
Spokane police said on Tuesday that a Spokane Police Major Crimes detective and a deputy prosecuting attorney saw the suspect, 34-year-old Nicholas Kenneth Wesbrooks, in court for an unrelated matter at about 9:30 a.m.
The detective had probable cause to arrest Westbrooks for his involvement in the fatal hit-and-run on Jan. 6, police said. Additional evidence was collected and Westbrooks was booked into jail.