Prosecutors have charged a Renton man with the death of a 60-year-old man in a vehicle-pedestrian collision in Renton.
King County prosecutors charged Urias Macario Morales-Perez, 19, of Renton on Sept. 11 with vehicular homicide and a felony hit-and-run for the death of 60-year-old Timothy Gerchmez.
According to a report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, Gerchmez died on Sept. 8 as a result of multiple blunt force injuries suffered in a roadway accident in Renton on Sept. 7.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Morales-Perez executed a left turn at the intersection of Airport Way and Rainier Avenue South, striking Gerchmez as Gerchmez walked westbound in the crosswalk.
“Based on the engine noise from the video, it indicates continuous acceleration without any braking or reaction to Gerchmez prior to impact,” stated the affidavit of probable cause.
Witnesses stated that Morales-Perez fled southbound on Rainier Avenue South without stopping following the collision, according to the affidavit.
Law enforcement detained Morales-Perez after conducting an area search for the suspect vehicle. Upon his arrest, officers noted Morales-Perez held “characteristics consistent with someone possibly under the influence of alcohol.”
Gerchmez suffered “severe” injuries to his head and the right side of his body, with arriving officers observing Gerchmez as unresponsive and breathing irregularly, according to the affidavit.
First responders transported Gerchmez to Harborview Medical Center, with Harborview notifying the King County Medical Examiner’s Office on Sept. 8 of Gerchmez’s death, resulting from injuries sustained in the collision.
Prosecutors say at the time Morales-Perez committed the Sept. 7 hit-and-run that led to Gerchmez’s death, he was on pretrial release for misdemeanor charges in Renton Municipal Court, including hit-and-run of an attended vehicle and having no valid license.
Prosecutors argued for the court to set Morales-Perez’s bail at $100,000.
The court scheduled Morales-Perez’s arraignment for Sept. 25 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
