Prosecutors file charges in fatal hit-and-run near Sumner unsolved for years
Pierce County prosecutors on Thursday filed charges against a 42-year-old woman suspected of fatally striking a pedestrian nearly three years ago on a two-lane road near Sumner and then fleeing.
Erika Katherine Kindig was charged in Superior Court with failure to remain at an accident resulting in death. The fatal hit-and-run was captured on two security cameras, according to charging documents, which allege Kindig was driving a GMC Acadia when she struck the man, who was reportedly standing in the roadway.
Kindig is expected to appear for an arraignment hearing Oct. 15 to enter a plea in the case, according to court records. An attorney for Kindig was not listed in court records.
The man killed in the Sept. 30, 2022 incident has been identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner as 32-year-old Logan Fithian. His city of residence was listed as unknown, and he died of multiple blunt force injuries. At the time, the Sheriff’s Office said witnesses reported the victim was seen walking on the side of the road shortly before he was struck near the 12900 block of Valley Avenue East.
The case remained unsolved until deputies were contacted by a retired legal advisor to the Sheriff’s Office in 2024 who said Kindig’s father had told him he believed his daughter had struck the pedestrian, according to the probable cause document.
A deputy visited the father in November that year, and the man allegedly said Kindig left his home that night to drive to Sumner, but she returned a few minutes later and said she’d hit a deer.
Investigators determined Kindig owned a GMC Acadia and found that she’d been involved in an alleged “DUI situation” in South Hill in September 2023. Further investigation found that the vehicle was brought to an auto shop for repair in December 2023, and Kindig allegedly told the shop she’d driven off the road and into a ditch.
Kindig allegedly made the same claim to her insurance company, and the vehicle was repaired and sold.
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
