A pedestrian who was struck and killed late Monday while trying to cross state Highway 500 near Northeast Thurston Way, was being sought by police for an incident at Vancouver Mall.
The crash occurred at 10:42 p.m. in the highway’s eastbound lanes, according to a statement from the Washington State Patrol.
The agency said the pedestrian, described only as male, was running from north to south across all lanes just east of Thurston Way when he was struck by a 2016 Kia Forte driven by Skyler M. Williams, 27, of Vancouver.
The victim’s name was withheld pending notification of next of kin, the Washington State Patrol said. He was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center but was pronounced dead.
Williams was uninjured.
Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp said in an email the pedestrian was involved in an earlier incident at Vancouver Mall.
Officers were dispatched at 10:18 p.m. to the mall’s food court for a trespass in progress. The suspect had also allegedly stolen cash and checks from a register at one of the food court’s restaurants, Kapp said.
Mall security told police an unknown man was in a restaurant’s counter or kitchen area. When officers arrived, they spotted a man riding a bicycle in the direction of a hotel near the mall. Officers checked the area, including a homeless camp that runs along Highway 500.
“People in the area said the male dropped his bike and continued running through the woods. The male was not located and officers began to clear,” police said.
Shortly after, dispatchers advised officers of a crash involving a pedestrian that occurred on the highway. Officers responded and observed that the pedestrian who “was struck by the vehicle was the suspect from the mall incident,” according to the police department.
