Troopers arrest man they say left Mountain Highway bicyclist for dead

Washington State Patrol detectives have arrested the driver they say hit and killed a bicyclist last week on state Route 7 near Eatonville.

Susan Rainwater, 66, was struck Thursday morning while riding on Mountain Highway East near 320th Street East when a northbound driver veered onto the shoulder and struck her, State Patrol spokeswoman Johnna Batiste said. A neighbor later found her body in a ditch.

The 37-year-old Roy man was booked into Pierce County Jail just after 11 a.m. Tuesday on suspicion of vehicular homicide, felony hit-and-run and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Fragments of bodywork and a headlight assembly indicated that a black vehicle likely struck Rainwater.

An anonymous tip led troopers to the man, Batiste said. The tipster gave a license plate assigned to a black pickup and described front-end damage to the truck.

When confronted by detectives, the pickup owner admitted to striking Rainwater, Batiste said.

The Roy man frequently drives a black 1986 Chevrolet pickup registered to his father, Batiste said. Commenters on Reddit were able to narrow down the make and model of the fragments to a mid-80s General Motors pickup’s headlight assembly.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 3:04 PM.