Man involved in fatal hit-and-run faces multiple charges, prosecutors say

SEATTLE — A 26-year-old man suspected of causing a fatal crash Wednesday morning is facing charges of vehicular homicide, felony hit-and-run and others, according to court documents.

Police said Payton Maddy was arrested in North Seattle after he was involved in a crash that killed a motorcyclist at the intersection of Northeast 130th Street and 15th Avenue Northeast.

Maddy fled the scene on foot, leaving the 61-year-old victim to die in the street, police said. However, he was found hiding several blocks away and taken into custody.

“He hid in our neighbor’s back yard, and I believe they called police. We didn’t because we didn’t know what was going on,” said a resident in the area.

Prosecutors said Maddy should have already been behind bars.

Records show Maddy was in jail until a couple of months ago. He was accused in another hit-and-run with nearly identical circumstances.

“I mean how long was he out and he already killed someone. That’s awful,” the neighbor said.

Court documents stated, “Over the state’s objection, he was released without bail on March 18, 2020 when the trial dates were continued to September 2020 due to COVID.”

Prosecutors didn’t want him on the streets because they said he failed to appear in court 43 times since 2003.

Neighbors couldn’t believe he was still let go and they worry more crimes could happen at the hands of inmates released early.

"There was some other guy who attacked a woman in a trail recently who was an early release from Washington state because of this. I think they could do better things with their time right now, honestly."

Maddy admitted to police that he had used heroin earlier in the day, according to court documents. His bail was set at $750,000.

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