Driver accused of fleeing after fatal hit-and-run crash, later arrested for vehicular homicide

A 37-year-old man was charged with suspicion of vehicular homicide after witnesses allege he ran a red light, collided with at least one other vehicle and ran away before officers arrested him a week ago in north Spokane, according to court documents.

Jermaine J.W. Green also faces fatal hit-and-run and obstructing charges for the Oct. 6 crash on Maple Street and Garland Avenue. KHQ reported the victim, whose identity has not been released, died the day after the crash.

One witness told police she was driving north on Maple around 11:10 a.m. when Green, traveling in a silver vehicle east on Garland, ran the red light and collided with the driver of a pickup truck – also driving north on Maple – and a black SUV, according to court records. She said the traffic light for the pickup and her vehicle was green.

She said Green then got out of his vehicle and walked east on Garland, and north down the alley east of the Maple and Garland intersection, court records said. The witness identified Green as the driver of the vehicle.

Another witness told police he heard the crash from his nearby home, saw Green walk away from the crash, run east on Garland and then north on Walnut Street. He and other bystanders chased Green but he lost sight of him as Green ran north, documents said.

One officer said he saw a man matching the suspect’s description walking north on Walnut Street and then running. He said he saw officers taking Green into custody in the backyard of a residence on Walnut Street and Walton Avenue, one-tenth of a mile from the crash.

Another officer wrote in court records he saw Green sitting between a chain link fence and detached garage trying to hide. He detained Green and smelled an odor of burnt marijuana coming from Green’s clothing.

The officer wrote that he was walking Green to his patrol car when he heard him say he took the turn too fast and, “Why couldn’t I just take the DUI, man?” Green told the officer he “smoked a bowl” around 5:30 a.m. that day, documents said.

Green made his first court appearance Friday and is scheduled for an arraignment Wednesday in front of Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tony Hazel. Green was not listed on the Spokane County Jail roster Wednesday.