Driver charged in fatal hit-run

One man told detectives the shiny black sedan tore past him so quickly on Interstate 5 Sunday morning that he "literally jumped."

The startled motorist then watched the speeding car approach a slower-moving Chevrolet Monte Carlo, swerve from side to side as if the driver couldn't decide on which side to pass, and slam into the car's rear, prosecutors say. The Chevy spun out of control, hit a guardrail and burst into flames.

The sedan, a Lexus, crashed into a guardrail on the other side of the freeway, and the driver and two passengers fled on foot before they were arrested by police a mile away about 90 minutes later, court papers say.

Yesterday, the driver of the Lexus, Ruben Camacho Contreras, was charged with vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run in the crash that killed Jonathan Davern, 23.

Davern, who grew up in Clark County, had recently moved to Seattle with his new wife.

If convicted, Camacho Contreras, 28, faces a standard sentencing range of three to four years in prison. He is being held in King County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail and was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

The crash, which tied up traffic for hours, occurred in the southbound lanes of I-5 just south of the Mercer Street exit about 5:30 a.m.

Camacho Contreras had been drinking before the accident, prosecutors say.

Eight witnesses, most of them other drivers, told State Patrol detectives that the Lexus was traveling faster than 100 mph before it crashed, charges say. Two witnesses estimated the speed was as high as 125.

Witnesses told detectives Camacho Contreras and the two passengers, ages 29 and 20, started walking north, away from the accident, immediately after the crash. Some drivers who had stopped tried to prevent the men from leaving but couldn't, charges say.

One of the three threatened to punch one driver as he tried to stop them, a witness said. Another witness said he heard the men saying they needed to "get out of here."

Some drivers reported seeing one man trying unsuccessfully to get into another car.

One driver told detectives he was heading south in the fast lane when he noticed the Lexus zooming up behind him. The driver moved over but was almost sideswiped as the Lexus passed.

Moments later, the driver saw the Lexus plow into Davern's car. The man told detectives he stopped, got out and tried to help Davern, but the flames were too intense. He pursued the men and caught up with them in the brush just below the Mercer Street ramp, charges say.

He told the three, who were hobbling and appeared injured, to wait for police, but they refused. He used a cell phone to alert authorities and police arrested the men. Two were hiding in the waters of Lake Union near Chandler's Crabhouse restaurant, and the other was found nearby.

Anne Koch's phone message number is 206-464-3303. Her e-mail address is akoch@seattletimes.com.