Seattle Police arrest driver in fatal hit and run of bicyclist

BY Brandi Kruse  on June 7, 2012 @ 9:37 am (Updated: 12:34 pm - 6/7/12 )

Seattle Police have made an arrest in the July 2011 fatal hit and run of a bicyclist in South Lake Union.

Few details were released during a news conference Thursday, at which police announced the arrest of Erlin Garcia Reyes, 28, of Normandy Park.

Police believe Reyes was the driver of an SUV that fatally struck and killed 44-year-old Michael Wang on July 28. The SUV hit Wang as the driver made a left turn on Dexter Ave. North. The suspect fled the scene.

Wang, a married father of two, was an avid bicyclist and photographer for PATH, a global health non-profit. He had commuted by bike from South Lake Union to his home in Shoreline and back for years.

"Late July, when we got word of Mike Wang's death, it hit our community hard. All of us were deeply shaken," said Chuck Ayers with Cascade Bicycle Club, of which Wang was a member.

Ayers said Wang was 100-percenter, which meant he had rode to work every day the month he was killed.

The Seattle's Police Department Traffic Collision Investigation Squad would not say Thursday what led them to Reyes, who had not been interviewed by police prior to Wednesday.

He was booked into the King County Jail for felony hit and run.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (20)


  • Add A Comment

  • rubegoldberg wrote...
    Has Normandy Park
    June 7, 2012 5:34 pm
    falled this far or is that a typo? I am guessing he is closer to the Des Moines border...once again, gracias para los Estados Unidos, me gusta trabajando
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rubegoldberg wrote...
    Has Normandy Park
    June 7, 2012 5:54 pm
    falled [sic] LOL, first glass of syrah down the hatch
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tlmbrt wrote...
    The cyclist
    June 7, 2012 10:59 pm
    probably cut in front of the SUV and caused his own demise.... Cyclists think they own the highways anyway!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tuleman003 wrote...
    Bicyclists are not pedesrians.
    June 7, 2012 11:46 pm
    For some reason, pedestrians got the idea that they have total right-of-way. They walk out of stores and into the path of 2-ton+ vehicles obliviously. However, when you are on a bicycle, you are supposed to SHARE the road. Meaning that there are rules that apply. Don't know if the rules were broken in this case, but if you run over somebody,you should at least stop and see if they're okay.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Derrol_o wrote...
    tuleman
    June 8, 2012 3:00 am
    It would've been a bit difficult for the bicyclist to stop and see if the hit and run driver was ok because the bicyclist was dead.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tuleman003 wrote...
    Wow, Derrol
    June 8, 2012 5:20 am
    Do you have a brother named Darrel?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }