Drunk driving suspect hits pedestrian on Benton County road, then drives off

A Benton City man is accused of driving away after hitting a man walking on Dallas Road, breaking his arm.

Travis L. Lockie, 51, allegedly took a wide turn while heading north in his pickup near Goose Gap Road about 9 p.m. on Friday.

His driver’s side mirror clipped the 35-year-old pedestrian when Lockie crossed into the oncoming lane and shoulder, said investigators.

The pedestrian was walking on the shoulder of the road after stopping his car on the side of Dallas Road, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said.

Lockie allegedly drove off but a witness called 911 for his injured friend, who was treated at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.

As police were investigating, someone living nearby called to report an abandoned pickup on a canal road near their home, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

The call led deputies to Lockie’s pickup which was stuck along the canal. Deputies reported there was a case of iced tea with alcohol in the passenger seat, court documents said.

The side mirror was broken and the glass matched glass found at the scene, said officials.

While Lockie reported the pickup stolen about half an hour after the crash, a store clerk at a nearby convenience store said Lockie had come in and bought the hard iced tea just minutes before the man was hit, court documents said.

Lockie initially denied leaving home, but when a deputy challenged him he admitted to going to the convenience store.

The sheriff’s officials said in the Facebook post that Lockie showed signs of being drunk after the crash.

Lockie appeared in Benton County Superior Court on Monday on suspicion of vehicular assault, hit and run and making a false police report.

Deputy Prosecutor Benjamin Riley asked for $5,000 bail. He pointed out that Lockie has 2005 and 2009 convictions for DUI.

Superior Court Judge Bronson Brown agreed to set bail at $5,000.