Police search for driver who hit a Pasco man, leaving him to die by the road

Law enforcement officers are looking for a driver who hit and killed a man Sunday and left him to die in a highway median in Pasco.

Martin Perez Garcia, 27, of Pasco, was found between the northbound ramp of Highway 395 to Argent Road and the westbound ramp from Interstate 182 to Highway 395 southbound just west of Columbia Basin College.

A fog lamp for the driver’s side of a vehicle was left lying on the ground nearby, said the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers were working Monday to identify the type of vehicle that hit Garcia and will release a description when they know more, said Trooper Chris Thorson.

Garcia appears to have been hit between 1 and 3 a.m. Sunday, Thorson said. But his body was not discovered by a driver passing by until 11:15 a.m.

Some passersby reported that Garcia was partially undressed, but Thorson said his clothes were just badly ripped in the collision.

The driver who hit Garcia had to have known he hit a person, Thorson said.

“Why he didn’t stick around we can only speculate,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the state patrol’s Kennewick office at 509-734-7034.

Garcia lived in the Tri-Cities for 22 years after being born in Mexico. He did construction work.

This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 8:21 AM.