Highway 20 hit-and-run

The Poulsbo man accused of leaving the scene of a three-car collision earlier this month in Port Townsend has been charged with two illegal drug offenses, as well as hit-and-run from an injury accident.

Che Johnathan Salazar, 37, was arraigned for hit-and-run driving Oct. 16 in Jefferson County Superior Court.

He was also charged with possession of methamphetamine, with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance; and possession of heroin, with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance. 

Salazar pleaded not guilty to the three charges during his video arraignment last Friday. He remains in custody in Jefferson County Jail, with bail set at $50,000.

MULTIPLE WITNESSES

Police allege that Salazar was the driver of a 2012 Ford Focus that crashed into the rear of a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado pickup, driven by a 26-year-old Port Orchard man, that had slowed for traffic on Highway 20 just north of the U-Haul business about 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9.

The Chevrolet pickup then launched forward after being struck from the rear and hit the back end of a 1993 Nissan Maxima, driven by a 56-year-old Brinnon woman, that had also slowed for traffic.

The driver of the pickup truck told police he lives in Port Angeles but was in Port Townsend to pickup his girlfriend, and they were headed west on Highway 20 for a weekend in Leavenworth.

The man said he saw the driver of the Ford Focus — whom he described as someone in his 30s, with a shaved head with tattoos — run away from the scene right after the crash.

The fleeing man was seen carrying an orange bag, and a white bag marked with a blue square.

The truck driver said he chased the other driver through the woods, but couldn’t catch him.

A U.S. Forest Service officer was the first person on the scene, and arrived just after the crash. Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office soon followed, as well as the Washington State Patrol. 

The Brinnon woman was taken by an aid car to Jefferson Healthcare Medical Center in Port Townsend with possible back injuries.

Police found the Ford Focus had a temporary registration and license, and had previously been registered as a dealer vehicle to Gary’s Affordable Rentals.

INTO THE WOODS

A K9 unit from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office was brought in to find the man who fled from the crash.

A Clallam deputy and the dog began searching for the driver in the woods west of Highway 20, with the help of a deputy from Jefferson County and a State Trooper.

Ten minutes into the search, officers found an orange bag, with scattered clothes and an electric toothbrush nearby. They pressed on until the police dog lost the scent.

When police returned to the bag, they found a plastic bag that held three smaller bags. Inside was what appeared to be heroin and meth, as well as 15 small plastic baggies that police said are commonly used to distribute smaller portions of drugs.

Based on a witness description, Salazar was named by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office as a potential suspect. 

A photo of Salazar from the Department of Licensing was shown to the driver of the pickup that had been rear-ended, and he identified the man in the photo as the driver of the Ford Focus.

EVIDENCE RECOVERED

After a search warrant was obtained for the Ford, officers searched the car and found a full box of ammunition, as well as clothes, a cell phone, and a rental agreement with the name “Kenneth R. Johnson” on it.

Police recovered two bags from the woods. Approximately 38.3 grams of heroin was found in a bag, as well as two bags of meth; one containing 1.7 grams of meth, and another with 8 grams, along with 15 smaller baggies. Officers said clothing and other personal items were also in the bags.

According to a report by a State Trooper who investigated the crash, white tank-top undershirts found in the Ford looked like ones found with the bags discovered in the woods during the K9 search.

The Ford was seized as evidence of a federal probation violation, sealed, and towed to the sheriff’s storage lot.

SUSPECT ARRESTED

On Saturday, the day after the three-car crash, a sheriff’s deputy found Salazar walking along Jacob Miller Road near Discovery Bay Road.

A State Trooper questioned Salazar as he sat in the back of the deputy’s patrol car.

When asked if he was involved in a collision the night before, he said he wasn’t and had been staying at a friend’s house.

The officer asked him what kind of vehicle he had, and after some confusion, Salazar said it was a silver BMW, but he wasn’t sure where it was because it had been stolen.

The trooper told Salazar about the bag that had been found in the woods where he had last been seen running away, but Salazar claimed his backpack had been stolen.

He also appeared surprised when told that heroin had been found in the backpack, and also claimed he never had a backpack.

Salazar continued to deny leaving the scene of the crash, even when told that four witnesses had given his description of the man who fled.

“I told him to tell the truth and come clean,” the investigating trooper said in his report, “and he said, why would I come clean, I’m going to jail either way.”

Salazar was then arrested for hit-and-run and possession of drugs.

During a search of his clothing, an officer found small sticks and twigs, and what appeared to be pine needles, inside his jacket and pants pockets. He said he wasn’t sure how those got in his clothes.

A trial date has been set for Dec. 7.