Washington man arrested for January hit-and-run death in Clark County, deputies say

CLARK COUNTY Wash. (KPTV) – A suspect is in custody for the January hit-and-run death of a Vancouver man, according to deputies.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said Joseph A. Rachauskas, 47, was arrested Wednesday and charged with vehicular homicide, possession of a stolen vehicle and hit and run.

Rachauskas is the suspect in a hit-and-run that killed 52-year-old William Stevens. The incident happened January 23 just before 1 p.m. at the intersection of NE Highway 99 and NE 88th Circle. Deputies said Rachauskas was driving a stolen Ford F250, ran a red light and hit a sedan.

The driver of the sedan, Stevens, was extricated from the car and taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Rachauskas was identified through investigation and arrested in the Fred Meyer parking lot at 7700 NE Highway 99 Wednesday by CCSO and the Washougal Police.

Deputies said Rachauskas was wanted by several agencies in Oregon and Southwest Washington for “various crimes.” In Oregon, his criminal record goes back to 1997. Since then, he’s had multiple felony and misdemeanor offenses including theft, identity theft, DUII, possession of methamphetamine, and numerous traffic violations.

Copyright 2022 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.