Arrested cop, man killed, identified in fatal Seattle crash

SEATTLE (AP) — An off-duty Auburn police officer accused of fatally striking a pedestrian after losing control of his vehicle Saturday night in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood has posted bail and left jail.

Court and jail records show Michael L. Smith, 33, posted $200,000 bail and was released from jail Monday night after a King County District Court judge found probable cause for vehicular homicide, The Seattle Times reported. It wasn’t immediately known if Smith has a lawyer to comment on his case.

Clifford Jones, 65, died from multiple blunt force injuries, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Auburn police said an officer involved in a fatal vehicle-pedestrian collision was put on administrative leave amid an internal investigation.

Witnesses called 911 at 10:48 p.m. Saturday and reported a person was unresponsive after being struck by a vehicle, according to the probable cause statement outlining the Seattle Police Department’s case against Smith.

Smith smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and had bloodshot eyes, the statement said.

Police determined that a vehicle traveling north at high speed drove onto the sidewalk, then launched over a berm, according to the probable cause statement. The force of the impact caused Jones to be thrown over the berm, it says.

Jones died at the scene. One witness estimated the vehicle was going 90 mph, the statement says.

Police learned the same driver had been involved in a hit-and-run collision with a taxi cab minutes earlier a few miles south of the fatal crash, the statement says.

Smith was hired by Auburn police in 2021 after short stints working for Bellevue police and the University of Washington Police Department, according to public records obtained by The Seattle Times.