Police investigating serious South Hill assault

Medical crews took a man to a local hospital this morning after he was found sitting in a parking lot on the lower South Hill with life-threatening injuries. A passing driver saw the man in his 50s near Seventh Avenue and Bernard Street around 6 a.m. and called 911 for a welfare check. The extent of his injuries were not known until he was evaluated at Deaconess for injuries to his legs and blunt trauma to his head, Spokane Police spokeswoman Monique Cotton said. The injuries are described as critical, Cotton said, and police believe he was assaulted by some sort of object. Major Crimes investigators did not find a weapon at the scene, she said, but they examined the area between Bernard and Washington Street throughout the day. Police are not connecting this morning’s incident to any recent incidents at this time, Cotton said. The victim’s identity has not been released yet, but police have a partial knowledge of his whereabouts until 3 a.m. on Tuesday and initial reports described the man as a transient, Cotton said. Anyone with information on the victim’s whereabouts between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. is asked to call the police tip line at (509) 242-TIPS.