Deputies arrest alleged hit-and-run driver

MEDICAL LAKE -Spokane County Sheriff's Office deputies have arrested a motorist in connection with a hit-and-run incident.

Dustin J. Williams, 27, was arrested for felony hit-and-run at a local store at about 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6.

He allegedly failed to stop and render assistance after he struck a jogger near the intersection of South Stanley and East Campbell streets, the Sheriff's Office reported.

Williams was identified with the help of witnesses who described a blue or green sedan, possibly a Honda southbound on Stanley toward Campbell that did not stop at the stop sign before turning west onto Campbell and going off the north side of the road where it struck an adult female who was jogging eastbound, the Sheriff's Office reported. The victim flew across the hood of the car and landed on the pavement.

According to the victim, she was jogging on the shoulder just off the roadway when she observed Williams' vehicle run the southbound stop sign before turning west onto Campbell. The car immediately turned onto the shoulder, heading straight for her. 

She attempted to get out of the way, but she was struck and thrown across the hood on the driver's side of the car before landing on the pavement, the victim told deputies. 

When arrested at a local store, Williams denied drinking before the collision, stating he had purchased alcohol at the grocery store before the deputies' arrival. 

He admitted driving on Campbell when a female jogger ran into the front of his vehicle and fell off to the side, the Sheriff's Office reported. Williams said he panicked and accelerated through the grass, fleeing west on Campbell.

He further said later that he "did the right thing" and turned himself in, according to the press release. 

Williams did not have a valid drivers license, the Sheriff's Office reported.

The victim declined medical transport.