Driver not yet charged in crash that killed pedestrian

Published 12:31 pm Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Reporter staff

The driver of an SUV who allegedly struck killed a woman walking near the Muckleshoot Casino March 3 has not yet been charged with a crime.

“A vehicular homicide case has not yet been referred to prosecutors,” Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutors Office, said last week of 35-year-old Russell Ward, who was booked on a Department of Corrections hold and remains in jail.

According to Auburn Police, Ward, a wanted felon, lost control of his vehicle, left the road in the 2500 block of Auburn Way South and hit Reachella Partman, 44, who was walking on a sidewalk. Partman died at the scene.

According to police, the SUV then flipped over and landed on another vehicle in the casino’s parking lot, ejecting Ward, whom emergency personnel transported to a hospital with unknown injuries.

Police do not know what caused Ward to leave the roadway.

Ward was wanted for felony escape after failing to report to his community supervision office on Feb. 23.

At 11:42 p.m. an Auburn officer was in the 3600 block of Auburn Way South when he received a burglary-in-progress call in north Auburn. The officer activated his emergency lights and proceeded west on Auburn Way South.

The SUV was in front of the responding officer when he activated his lights, but Ward did not yield to the officer and move to the right, according to police. Ward then took off, accelerating at a high rate of speed westbound on Auburn Way South before he lost control of his vehicle and hit Partman.

The officer did not speed up to chase the vehicle, police said.