Few leads in Kennewick hit-and-run case

With no video footage and limited accounts from witnesses, Kennewick police have little to go on as they try to solve a recent fatal hit-and-run collision.

Few leads have been generated since Mark Brown Sr., 49, was struck after falling out of his motorized chair Aug. 26 at the intersection of Washington Street and Eighth Avenue.

The death is the second deadly fatal hit-and-run to remain unsolved in Kennewick this year. Michael P. Robinson, 58, was killed Feb. 22 while walking on Columbia Center Boulevard.

Brown was run over and died from head trauma a short time after a police officer spotted Brown traveling on Washington Street

“The officer was coming up Washington heading south and remembers seeing him,” said Sgt. Ken Lattin, police spokesman. “She went to cover another officer (on a call) and minutes later found him.”

The collision was just out of sight of traffic cameras and was not captured by cameras at any businesses in the area, Lattin said.

A motorist driving on Washington Street saw a car, possibly a dark-colored sedan, swerve, and then spotted Brown near the curb.

“We have to assume (the suspect) car was right in front,” Lattin said.

A few tips have come into police, but they haven’t materialized in solid leads, Lattin said.

Brown frequented the neighborhood where he was killed and was routinely spotted traveling up and down Washington Street, Lattin said. Police routinely contacted him about drifting into traffic while he was in his chair or on a bicycle.

“Within an hour of the collision happening, he drove his chair out in front of an officer,” Lattin said.

It’s possible the suspect vehicle could have little or no damage based on what officers found at the collision scene, Lattin said. Police believe Brown caught his motorized chair’s wheel on a curb, causing him to spill into the street.

Lattin said authorities are hopeful that tips will help crack both unsolved hit-and-run cases, or that the drivers who struck the men will take responsibility and turn themselves in.

“It’s unusual that nothing has come forward,” he said. “You would hope that somebody’s conscience would have gotten the best of them by now.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Few leads in Kennewick hit-and-run case."