Charges filed in hit-and-run that killed 81-year-old man in White Center

KIRO 7 News Staff
·1 min read
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37-year-old Isaiah Lewis Cooper has been charged with felony hit and run in the fatal crash that killed 81-year-old Thomas Joseph Garrett in White Center April 22.

Cooper was initially arrested May 16, but released on court order May 20 as the charging deadline had passed. The next day, May 21, the King County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges. Cooper was arrested again on May 23. Bail had been set at $500,000.

Garrett, also known as “Tommy Joe,” was killed when he was hit by an SUV at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Roxbury Street on April 22. The driver did not stop.

The 81-year-old victim, Thomas Joseph Garrett, also known as “Tommy Joe,” was killed when he was hit by an SUV at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Roxbury Street on April 22.
The 81-year-old victim, Thomas Joseph Garrett, also known as “Tommy Joe,” was killed when he was hit by an SUV at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Roxbury Street on April 22.

Surveillance video showed an SUV that King County Sheriff’s Office detectives identified to be a silver Jeep Compass.

Detectives spent the next few weeks speaking with people at businesses and homes in the area and reviewing surveillance video to trace the SUV’s route before and after the fatal collision.

Eventually, they were able see both the SUV’s license plate and the driver, who they believe is Cooper.