Jared West via Gofundme
Prosecutors have filed charges in the New Year’s hit and run that left a 23-year-old dead in the roadway of the Montlake Bridge.
Kyle Dickinson, 18 and a resident of the Broadmoor neighborhood, has been charged with vehicular homicide, hit and run, and driving without a license. Police say Dickinson fled the scene and appeared to be drunk when arrested hours after the collision.
The 23-year-old victim has been identified as University of Washington student Jared West. A fundraiser set up to help his family said West was working on a degree in construction management. “This past year was a very successful one for Jared – he found his calling professionally, was doing very well in school, and even found the motivation to make dramatic health improvements by losing over 60 pounds through diet and exercise,” his family writes. “We are so very proud of Jared’s accomplishments and will miss him greatly.”
Prosecutors say West had attended a nearby party and was witnessed appearing to be “dancing and and running and waving his arms in the street” and “swinging something around” near passing cars. Cars were reported “stopping, honking their horns, and slowing for him.”
Witness accounts and evidence collected by police including dashcam video from another vehicle showed that Dickinson was driving through the area, passing other cars moments before the just after 1:30 AM crash. Dickinson struck West with the Mercedes SUV he was driving and sped off without stopping, police and prosecutors say, before ditching the car nearby in front of Husky Stadium and fleeing on foot.
A passing citizen began CPR on the victim with officers taking over when they arrived. Seattle Fire medics also attempted life-saving measures, but the 23-year-old died at the scene in the bridge’s northbound lanes. Police say West was struck near E Shelby and Montlake Blvd and thrown near the south end of the bridge.
Prosecutors say Dickinson was driving his family’s vehicle without a license and showed signs of alcohol impairment when taken into custody around 3:30 AM after police tracked him down after contacting his parents.
Dickinson had fled to a 52nd Ave NE residence where police say they found him drunk and crying. Police say the suspect told them he was driving to visit friends at the time of the deadly collision:
The Bishop Blanchet High School senior is currently free on $100,000 bail, prosecutors say.
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What a bizarre and tragic story all around.
Nice, Kyle….blame the victim (Jared West) for your drunken, lethal behavior.
and illegal (driving w/o a license)
Well, dancing in the street where cars drive is kind of asking for trouble too. It’s an accident.
Sorry, as a witness I have to clarify this. That isn’t what happened. There may have been some other individual “dancing in the street” as there were several small gatherings in the area, but this man was not. Regardless, whether it was j-walking or whatever that led to him being in the path of cars, in no universe does that exonerate the driver, who was speeding through Montlake, an area with many traffic lights, crosswalks, and posted speed limits. The driver was 18, drunk, driving recklessly, speeding, without a license and committed a HIT & RUN. It’s not an accident when the person behind the wheel doesn’t have concern for their own life let alone another. There’s no “yin & yang” here. Kyle is guilty. So let me ask you this, lets say you’re having a bad day and aren’t paying attention, you cross the street and get nailed by an SUV and luckily you survive. Are you going to sit there and be like “well I was asking for trouble so it was just an accident”. What do you gain from going on news articles, trying to be the decider of guilt, who the hell asked you? Judging by the GoFundMe, Jared has a family and entire network of friends who are suffering a grave loss. Your comments aren’t needed.
Two young men behaved recklessly. One of them is dead. The other will be heavily penalized.
Apparently the victim was partly responsible. There were multiple 911 calls prior to the collision that a person was in the roadway walking in front of cars.
Drunk driving is bad. Hit and run is not acceptable. Still not a black and white situation.
Obviously, Jared West was behaving recklessly, but that doesn’t mean he deserved to be killed by a drunken driver without a license, who later called Jared a “fucking idiot.” And Kyle Dickinson didn’t stop, but kept driving north, so he clearly is guilty of hit-and-run.
$1000 says the rich white kid from Broadmoor ends up getting zero punishment
Its unlikely that you have $1000
That made me chortle.
Thanks for your concern, but I have plenty of money for that wager. Wanting to get into a pissing match over bank accounts, instead of absorbing the point being made, only means you’re an idiot.