TACOMA, Wash. — Six says after his 17-year-old son was killed in a metal-mangling crash with a suspected drunk driver, Michael Dimmitt is left with a painful, vexing question: “Why hasn’t he been arrested?”
According to investigators, at about 7 a.m., Quinnton Dimmitt was making a left turn though the intersection at 84th and Waller, in Midland. The driver of a minivan may have been going more than 80 mph in a 35 mph zone, when he slammed into Dimmitt’s 2014 Volkswagen Passat, pushing Dimmitt’s car more than 200 feet into a utility pole.
Dimmitt had to be cut out of the car, and died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The driver of the van, whose name has not been released, was also injured. Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies got a court order to draw the driver’s blood at the hospital, after he allegedly showed signs of severe intoxication at the scene.
On Wednesday, Michael Dimmitt was told the suspected drunk driver released himself from a hospital.
"He's walking around free and my son is unfortunately in Mountain View Cemetery in a refrigerator right now," Dimmitt said.
Pierce County detectives tell KIRO 7 evidence is still being gathered about speed and the driver’s blood alcohol level. They say they will charge him-when and if they feel they can successfully prosecute him. One detective said crash investigations can take days, or even weeks. The detective was confident the driver would be charged soon.
Dimmitt, standing by his son’s roadside memorial, said the process of seeking justice seems unfair.
“If I would've hit into somebody and plowed into them, I'd have a lot of explaining to do.” Dimmitt said, “I wouldn't be able to get doctored up at the hospital and ‘Oh I'm going to leave, see ya!"
Quinnton's sister worries that over time, the driver could disappear.
“Would you stay, just waiting to go to prison? Because that's what really hurts me,” she said. “I know he's probably not going to stay to face justice. that's what I think-he's not going to wait and see."
KIRO 7 will report details of the charges, as soon as they are filed.