Suspect arrested in fatal hit-and-run on Thanksgiving

The man suspected of causing a crash that killed a mother of four from Arizona on Thanksgiving night made his first court appearance Wednesday.

Kelly York Jr., 24, of the Buena area was arrested Monday afternoon at a West Valley home near Summitview and Weikel roads, the Washington State Patrol reported. He was booked into the Yakima County jail on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.

Rosa Magana, 37, of El Mirage, Ariz., died late Thanksgiving night at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. She was one of six people in a 1998 Nissan Sentra that was struck by a Jaguar at the intersection of Wierman and Branch roads northwest of Toppenish.

Troopers said the Jaguar was northbound on Wierman Road and drove through a stop sign, striking the Sentra.

A search of the area for the driver and a passenger was unsuccessful. Investigators found that the past owner of the Jaguar had sold it to York’s girlfriend. She reported seeing York driving the car around Buena and Zillah.

Callers to the state patrol also identified York as the driver after seeing news reports about the case, detectives said in a report filed in Yakima County Superior Court.

The mother of York’s girlfriend later said York had been hiding in the car outside while detectives interviewed the girlfriend during an appointment with her state probation officer. The girlfriend had denied any knowledge of his whereabouts, detectives said.

Three children in the Nissan between the ages of 6 and 14 were taken to  Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Two are in satisfactory condition; the third was in serious condition, a spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon. A fourth, a 16-year-old from Grandview, had been in satisfactory condition at Memorial Hospital.

The driver of the Nissan, Rudy Castillon, also of El Mirage, was not treated.

Patrol Lt. Jim Keightley said York likely would have faced only a ticket as long as he remained at the scene and was not impaired. Detectives are still investigating whether he was under the influence, Keightley said.

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