Man Ignores Officer’s Commands, Gets Hit By Suspected Drunk Driver

What started as a domestic dispute ended in vehicular assault and a possible DUI Wednesday night.

Renton Police responded to the Shell Gas Station at 1120 Southwest Grady Way shortly before 9 p.m. for multiple calls about a disturbance in the parking lot.

The responding officer contacted a disorderly man at the scene and asked him to sit on the curb; however, the suspect ignored the officer’s commands. Instead, he walked onto SW Grady Way, stood in the eastbound lane and continued to disobey the officer’s directions to move off the street and onto the sidewalk, said Traffic Unit Commander Clark Wilcox.

The officer directed traffic around the suspect while continuing to order the man to move off the street. As the officer approached the suspect, he turned toward the officer and positioned his body in an offensive fighting stance, said Wilcox. Shortly thereafter the driver of a dark-colored Honda SUV struck the suspect and narrowly missed the officer.

The woman behind the wheel appeared intoxicated, but refused a field sobriety test, Wilcox said. A blood draw was performed at the scene. The test results were not immediately available.

She was arrested on suspicion of DUI vehicular assault.

The man, who appeared to be in his 20s, was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with head injuries that did not appear life-threatening. No further information was available regarding the pedestrian or the driver.

Southwest Grady Way remained closed between Powell Avenue Southwest and Oaksedale Avenue Southwest for more than three hours while the traffic division investigated the incident. 

Patch will update this story as more details are released.