A 33-year-old Kent man was arrested April 2 by Washington State Patrol in connection with the early morning hit-and-run fatality March 22 that took the life of Belfair resident Katie Phillips on State Route 160, near the Southworth ferry terminal.
WSP identified the suspect as Dominic L. Dixon. He was booked into Kitsap County Jail for investigation of felony hit and run. Bail was set at $500,000.
Working on tips from motorists and ferry commuters, WSP detectives were able to identify and locate the suspect’s vehicle, at a Kent residence. It subsequently was seized and taken to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for evidence processing. The registered owner or suspected driver of the vehicle was not located at that time, said WSP Trooper Russ Winger.
Phillips, a Washington State Ferries employee who worked at the Southworth ferry terminal, had gotten off work just before 5 a.m. March 22 when she stopped to help a stranded motorist at Peppermill Place Southeast and Sedgwick Road, whose vehicle had run out of fuel. After returning from a gas station with a filled gasoline container, the 34-year-old Phillips started filling the stranded motorist’s vehicle with gasoline when a sedan identified as a 2002 gold Chevrolet Impala heading westbound struck the good Samaritan, killing her.
The unidentified motorist who hit Phillips didn’t stop and continued driving, according to Winger. In a WSP news release, Winger said the agency’s detectives thanked members of the public for their assistance and tips that helped identify and locate Dixon.
• Article contributed by Bob Smith of the Port Orchard Independent at kitsapdailynews.com, part of Sound Publishing, Inc.
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