Suspect arrested in hit-and-run that killed good Samaritan in Port Orchard



PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- A suspect was arrested Monday in the hit-and-run on March 22 that killed Washington State Ferries worker Katherine Phillips, who was helping a stranded motorist at the time, the Washington State Patrol announced.

The suspect was being booked into the Kitsap County Jail for investigation of a felony hit-and-run, with bail set at $500,000, the State Patrol said.

The suspect is not being identified because he has not yet been formally charged with a crime.

suspect



Phillips, a 34-year-old mother of two boys who lived near Belfair, was killed on State Route 160 in Port Orchard when she had stopped at 5 a.m. on March 22 to help a vehicle that had run out of gas and she was struck by a dark-colored sedan. The car drove away without stopping.

“She picked up some fuel, returned, and was in the process of putting gas in the car when she was struck by the vehicle,” said trooper Russ Winger.

Phillips had been working for the ferry system since 2015, and had just gotten off work when she stopped the help the stranded driver.