Man arrested on suspicion he left critically injured friend at scene of crash

Spokane Valley police arrested a 41-year-old man who investigators say left his two friends at the scene of a car crash Sunday that resulted in one of them sustaining life-threatening injuries.

Deputies responded to the emergency room at MultiCare Valley Hospital at about 5 a.m. after medical staff reported two men were dropped off and one was unconscious with serious injuries, according to a news release. The unconscious man appeared to have been involved in a car crash and was airlifted to a downtown Spokane hospital. He remained in critical condition Wednesday.

The other man, who was dropped off by his mother with minor injuries, told investigators he couldn’t remember what had happened, according to the news release.

Using the license plate hospital staff recorded from the mother’s car, investigators arrived at her home just after 6 a.m. and found Ryan J. Elliott, who admitted he was the driver of the vehicle in the suspected crash, according to the news release.

Elliott said he swerved to avoid something in the road and crashed into a parked truck near East 16th Avenue and South Balfour Road, according to the news release. He said he walked away to find help but did not remember the crash or how he got home.

Investigators located Elliott’s extensively damaged Mazda, which had a large amount of blood inside, in the 1700 block of South Balfour Road, according to the news release.

Deputies did not find any 911 calls reporting the crash and later arrested Elliott for felony hit-and-run. He agreed to a field sobriety test and did not appear impaired. Elliott is not being jailed while awaiting his next court hearing.

Deputies are still investigating the crash. The sheriff’s office said anyone with information should call (509) 477-3237.