Man charged with killing passenger, injuring others in drunken-driving crash before leaving scene

Yahoo

30-01-2025

Jan. 29—A 27-year-old man is accused of killing his passenger and seriously injuring three others after he drove drunk and crashed into a vehicle before leaving the scene earlier this month in north Spokane, according to court documents.
Jack Labi was charged with suspicion of vehicular homicide in the death of 47-year-old Dickson Keija. He also faces three counts of vehicular assault, three counts of injury hit-and-run and one count of fatal hit-and-run.
Police officers were dispatched to the two-vehicle crash at about 9:35 a.m. Jan. 12 near Central Avenue and Addison Street, just a few blocks from Providence Holy Family Hospital, according to court records.
Police say Labi was speeding in a 2009 Subaru Tribeca south on Addison when he crashed into a 2013 Nissan LEAF, which was turning from Central north onto Addison, according to documents. The crash caused the Subaru to crash into a home .
A witness who lives about a block from the intersection told police he heard a crash outside his residence and went outside. He said he chased after one of the drivers, later identified as Labi, who was limping.
The witness yelled, "You gotta go back! You hurt some people!" and Labi replied, "I don't care. Quit following me," the witness told police.
The witness said Labi banged on an apartment door asking them to let him in during the chase. Police arrived and detained Labi, documents say.
Police officers noted a seat belt mark on Labi's left shoulder, an abrasion on the right side of his forehead, his right ring finger was bleeding and there was bruising on his wrists and hands, according to records.
An officer wrote in documents that Labi "swayed wildly and showed extreme lack of coordinate movement." His breath smelled like alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot, his speech was slurred and he repeated the same statements.
Labi refused to perform standardized field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test, according to police in documents. He was taken to the hospital.
His passenger, Keija, died two days after the crash at the hospital, according to documents. Another passenger, Carlos Debrum, 28, was hospitalized with serious injuries.
The driver of the Nissan, Michelle Gibson, 58, broke her tibia. Her passenger, Donald Gibson, 64, broke his spine, ribs and clavicle, court records show.
Labi's blood was taken as evidence.
He was booked into the Spokane County Jail several hours after the crash after he was medically cleared from the hospital. He remained in jail Wednesday on a $500,000 bond.
He made his first appearance Jan. 13 in Spokane County Superior Court and had an arraignment Wednesday. He is scheduled for trial March 24.