Witnesses say driver accused of killing Mt. Spokane High School student was going faster than 100 mph

Witnesses of a crash that killed a Mt. Spokane High School sophomore and left his best friend fighting for his life Saturday night told investigators that the car that struck them likely was going more than 100 mph.

Ramiro Sanchez, 29, was arrested and is accused of vehicular homicide. He was northbound on U.S. Highway 395 in a Dodge Magnum and veered sharply to the left and struck a southbound Eagle Talon at about 8 p.m. about a quarter mile south of Hastings Road, court records say.

The driver of the Talon, Bailey Roach, was killed. His passenger, Taigen Balbi, remained at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center Monday night.

Washington State Patrol troopers say Sanchez had the smell of alcohol on his breath, admitted to drinking at Rancho Chico prior to the crash and refused to take a breath test, according to court documents. But a warrant was approved and a blood sample taken from him about two hours after the collision.

Sanchez’s passenger, Jessica R. Rogers, 23, told a trooper that “the defendant was calling out his speeds, ‘100, 110, 120 mph’ just prior to the collision,” court records say.

Friends and family of the boys have rallied to support each other. Using the hashtag #LiveForBayPrayForTaig they’ve shared grief on social media, and they organized a car rally and candlelight vigil Sunday night.

Bailey’s twin sister, Kiaunah Roach, vowed to “graduate for the both of us and finish living the life he wanted through mine.”

“He’s really my other half, and always will be,” Kiaunah said.

Bailey’s older brother, Dakotah Roach, said Bailey was his best friend and “had a good heart.”

“The memories we made growing up are ones I will cherish forever and there will never be a day that goes by where I don’t miss him,” Dakotah said. “He was happy doing his own thing, and that is all I ever wanted for him. My brother is one of a kind.”

His uncle, Scott Topp, said Bailey – most knew him as Bay – and his cousin, Willy Roach, put a new motor in his pickup. He was generous and made people feel important, Topp said.

“Bailey was a simple person that accepted everyone for who they were the same way that he was accepted,” Tropp said. “He wasn’t afraid to do things for himself.”

Sanchez, who remains in the Spokane County Jail on a $250,000 bond, was uninjured in the crash.