Spokane County Sheriff's Department Press Release:
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - Saturday evening around 7:53 pm, deputies responded
to the area of Maringo Drive just west of Argonne Road on the report of a
female child being struck by a hit and run vehicle. Upon arriving on scene, deputies learned a 2-year-old girl was
riding in a bicycle carrier trailer, with a bicycle helmet on, when a suspected
drunk driver came around the corner off of Argonne Road at a high rate of the
speed, crossing over onto the wrong side of the roadway, and literally ran over
the trailer. The vehicle never stopped
and immediately fled the scene.
A
witness was following behind the suspected drunk driver, who was operating a 2003
Honda Element. The witness followed the
Honda to the Pasadena Apartment complex, which is located in the north 4700
block of Pasadena Lane. The witness
blocked the suspect in with his vehicle and then confronted the suspect, asking
if he had any idea what he just did.
The suspect, who appeared intoxicated to the witness, just replied with
a profanity. The suspect briefly went
into an apartment, but then came right back out. It was around this time that deputies arrived on scene at the
apartment complex.
The
suspect, identified as 22 year-old Timmy N. Nguyen of Spokane, did not want to
answer questions and kept asking if he was under arrest, as he was a Gonzaga
law student. Through the deputies'
investigation, Nguyen was subsequently arrested for felony hit and run and
vehicular assault. He was taken to a
local hospital for a blood draw. These
blood samples will be sent to the state toxicology laboratory in Seattle and it
will take around a month to receive the results of the toxicology
analysis. After obtaining Nguyen's
blood sample, he was transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for
the aforementioned felonies.
The
2-year-old girl remains in serious condition at a local hospital's ICU with a
skull and wrist fracture, but is doing well and expected to recover. Deputies at the scene reported the girl's
bicycle helmet was basically blown apart due to the collision with the
Honda. While the little girl did receive
serious injuries, the hospital doctors commented had the girl not been wearing
a helmet, the outcome would likely have been fatal. Once again, this is another reminder for all users of the road to
always wear the appropriate safety equipment, i.e. bicycle helmet, seatbelts,
etc.
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