Royal City man sentenced for hit-and-run incident

ROYAL CITY — A Royal City man was sentenced in connection with a hit-and-run incident that left four people injured in June.

Edgar Molina Cruz, 30, of Royal City, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to hit-and-run (attended vehicle). Following a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Mark Laiminger and defense attorney Brett Bierley, Judge John Antosz sentenced Cruz to 364 days in jail, with 280 days suspended for two years and credit for 84 days served.

On June 25 authorities responded to a collision on state Route 26, near Royal City. Investigators were able to figure out that Molina Cruz was driving a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu east on SR-26 when he crossed over the centerline and went into the westbound SR-26 lane, according to court documents.

The Malibu struck a 2017 Toyota Camry, which contained three females and one male, head-on. The vehicles rotated 90-degrees after the impact and came to a rest blocking the highway. Cruz exited his vehicle right after the crash and fled the scene on foot, according to court documents.

The male in the Camry received multiple fractures to his ribs and sternum and was airlifted from the scene to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. The three females in the Camry were also injured and taken to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake for treatment.

A K-9 deputy with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office was brought to the scene to try and find Molina Cruz, but the dog was not able to track the suspect. In the early morning hours of June 26 Molina Cruz’s girlfriend contacted a trooper with the Washington State Patrol advising Molina Cruz had just walked into their home and had been hiding in an orchard near where the collision occurred.

The trooper responded to the location and contacted Molina Cruz, who claimed he was changing a CD in his car when he got distracted.

The trooper asked Molina how much he had to drink and Molina told him he had had three drinks the previous night.