Police: Felon charged in hit-and-run that killed mom in Kent says he was high on heroin

KENT, Wash. – King County Prosecutors have charged a man in the deadly hit and run crash that killed a mother of three last February.  The 23-year-old Eric Raul Hernandez-Navarro is charged with Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Assault, Possession of Stolen Vehicle, Hit and Run - Felony and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the Second Degree.

Kent Police say he was driving a stolen new black Acura TL when he blew through a red light at more than 60 mph and hit a car with three members of the Tilfas family inside before fleeing the scene and hiding in a nearby yard.  44-year-old Leimoi Clark was killed. Her 14-year-old daughter suffered a broken hip, broken clavicle and liver and kidney damage. Her husband received minor injuries.

Court documents show Hernandez-Navarro confessed to detectives saying he knew that the Acura was stolen and that he was high on heroin when he crashed and fled.  He is a convicted felon with several pending home burglary charges. His convictions include Hit and Run. Reckless Driving, numerous counts of Theft of Motor Vehicle, VUCSA and Residential Burglary.

"This was a tragic case with limited information on the suspect at the time of the collision. I would just like to thank Crime Stoppers for the service that it provides and the help of the public," said Kent PD Commander Jarod Kasner.

Hernandez-Navarro was arrested on April 5, 2017 and is being held on $750,000 bail.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A Kent family was ripped apart after a deadly hit-and-run crash on Saturday. Family friends say a mother of three was killed and a father and their teenage daughter was hospitalized.

The community is now rallying together to help, as police continue to try to find who’s responsible.



When news spread about a deadly hit-and-run on Pacific Highway Saturday night in Kent, Trudy Schug hoped it wasn’t anyone she knew.

“You don’t want to believe it,” said Schug. “You want to reach out and find this is a mistake.”

She soon learned the family inside one of the mangled cars was one she knew all too well. She taught their kids and those kids grew up with her own.

“Just knowing how loving, compassionate this family is, and how important their mom is, it’s heartbreaking,” said Schug.

Kent police say someone ran a red light on Saturday night and plowed into the Tilfas family vehicle, killing a mother of three and hurting the father and their eighth-grade daughter. Two of their other children weren’t inside. Police say the other car had been reported stolen and the driver ran off.

“I would hope that someone that knows something would come forward because it would really be nice to find out and hopefully find out and get closure for the family,” said Erick Schug, Trudy’s husband.

Trudy and her husband are now heading up efforts to help the Tilfas family.

“We’re hoping that we can, as a community, to just raise the funds and do whatever we can to just lift that burden of responsibilities as far as the financial side goes,” said Erick Schug.

While the community continues to rally around them, police say they’ll continue their own mission -- finding the person responsible.

“It’s devastating, a loss like that; it’s just heartbreaking,” said Schug.

If you’d like to help, family friends set up a gofundme account. https://www.gofundme.com/TilfasFamily