AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WA — An adult male pedestrian was killed early Tuesday morning in a vehicle collision on Highway 2 near South Centre Place, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators say the crash occurred at approximately 1:15 a.m. on January 7. Officers with the Airway Heights Police Department and sheriff’s deputies responded after a male driver reported he may have struck a person or an animal while traveling eastbound on Highway 2. The driver told officers he heard a noise, checked the area, did not locate anything, and later waited in a nearby parking lot for contact from law enforcement.

While officers contacted the driver, identified as 22-year-old Robert J. Bitcon, other responders searched the area. Minutes later, a severely injured adult male was found off the south side of the highway. Medical personnel arrived and pronounced the pedestrian deceased at the scene.

Due to the severity of the incident and under a mutual aid agreement, Spokane County Sheriff’s Traffic Unit investigators took over the investigation. SIRT Team volunteers assisted with traffic control.

Preliminary information indicates the pedestrian was walking on the shoulder of the roadway and not in the travel lane when he was struck. Investigators reported observing damage to the vehicle consistent with evidence found at the scene.

Deputies noted signs of possible impairment while contacting Bitcon. He was evaluated by a Drug Recognition Expert, and investigators established probable cause to believe he was impaired at the time of the crash. Bitcon was arrested and booked into jail on a charge of vehicular homicide.

The identity of the deceased pedestrian, along with the cause and manner of death, will be released by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office at a later time.

The investigation remains active. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has video footage and has not yet spoken with investigators is asked to contact Corporal T. Miller at 509-477-3195 and reference case number 10002558.