Bicyclist struck, killed in Kitsap County, deputies say

KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — A fatal crash occurred Saturday afternoon in Kitsap County, leaving a 56-year-old bicyclist dead.

The crash happened about 2:57 p.m. in the 8800 block of southbound Bethel Burley Road Southeast, near Southeast Mullenix Road.

Kitsap County deputies said the bicyclist, identified as Thomas Johnson of Tacoma, was struck while riding on the shoulder of the road and later was declared dead at the scene by medics.

The driver, later identified as a 40-year-old Port Orchard man, allegedly kept going for approximately one mile until he stopped, deputies said. Witnesses reportedly saw the man trying to remove the bike from the car’s front end.

When deputies arrived, he told them he thought he had struck a mailbox further up the road, officials said. The man was arrested for investigation of driving while under the influence of narcotics.

A portion of the road was closed to traffic for about three hours for the investigation.

The driver was booked into the Kitsap County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide, hit-and-run with injury or death to another and driving while on a suspended license. His bail was initially set at $250,000, authorities said.

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