Driver accused of killing dog in Thurston County hit-and-run has been arrested
The driver accused of hitting a pedestrian and their dog and then fleeing the scene last October has been arrested, Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a social media post on Feb. 22.
According to previous reporting from The Olympian, a driver struck a pedestrian and his dog on Oct. 9 in a crosswalk on Yelm Highway Southeast near Donovan Drive. The pedestrian suffered a broken foot, and his dog was killed. The driver allegedly fled from the scene.
A GoFundMe fundraiser after the incident identified the pedestrian as Andy Burt. It sought donations for his medical bills, The Olympian reported. The funds raised were also to cover his dog Kevin’s cremation costs.
The GoFundMe identified Kevin by his full name: Kevin McNugget Brownie Burt. In the description, Annie Burt, Andy Burt’s wife, wrote that her family adopted Kevin in January 2025 from the Tacoma Humane Society and that he quickly became a “much loved family member.”
Annie Burt told The Olympian after the wreck that her husband had been on a routine nightly dog walk, in a well-lit area and wearing a light-up vest, when the car hit him.
According to court documents, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office obtained dashcam footage from a witness to the incident. The footage allegedly showed a silver sedan fail to yield to a pedestrian wearing a reflective vest crossing the street in a marked crosswalk, with the yellow flashing lights activated.
The pedestrian fell to the ground, and the dog he was walking took off down the road, according to the court records. A passerby found the dog lying in the road and took him to a veterinary hospital, where he died.
The driver allegedly stopped for a moment before fleeing the scene.
Sanders said in a social media post on Feb. 22 that the TCSO worked with the Puyallup Police Department the night of the incident to locate the suspect vehicle using Flock surveillance footage.
Sanders said the vehicle was found unoccupied a few days later, and it was seized as evidence. Court documents say the suspect was stopped in his vehicle and later released because there was no probable cause for his arrest. The suspect allegedly admitted to the hit-and-run and requested to speak with an attorney.
The suspect lives in Olympia less than a mile from the location of the incident, according to court documents.
According to court documents, the suspect called Thurston 911 on Feb. 18 and said he was at the Thurston County Superior Courthouse to be taken into custody.
The 32-year-old man was booked into the TCSO jail on Feb. 18 on allegations of vehicular assault, second-degree animal cruelty, and hit-and-run accident/Injury, according to booking reports.
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