SOUTH KITSAP — The vehicle involved in a hit-and-run collision on Sidney Road Saturday, July 14, that claimed the life of pedestrian Michael D. Keaton has been found in Pierce County and positively identified by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
On Sunday, July 15, a white 2016 Chevrolet Cruze was found on 18th Avenue East in the Midland community of Pierce County, south of Tacoma. It was confirmed to be the vehicle that struck and killed the 61-year-old man as he was walking alongside Sidney and Matrix Loop in South Kitsap.
The driver has not yet been located, said Deputy Scott Wilson of the sheriff’s office, but a 29-year-old woman, Ali Rochelle Giannini, is wanted for questioning about her role in the tragedy.
Giannini, believed to be a transient, was last known to have lived in Eatonville. She also is known by the first name “Brittney” and often frequents the Pierce County area. The woman has an outstanding no-bail felony warrant out of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office for the possession of methamphetamine and Oxycontin. Giannini also has misdemeanor warrants for her arrest, as well.
The vehicle was positively identified through a visual inspection by detectives and through comparison with forensic evidence at the scene, according to Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office investigators. But locating the Chevrolet Cruze was made possible through tips from the public in response to law enforcement’s social media posts and news media coverage, Wilson said.
Keaton, of South Kitsap, was killed after being struck by the car while he was walking southbound on the northbound shoulder of Sidney. Deputies and investigators from the sheriff’s office traffic investigation unit reported he had been a safe distance from traffic, walked against traffic and was wearing a brightly colored shirt and reflective vest.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived at the accident scene, they found Keaton lying on the side of the road. He was pronounced dead by authorities.
Deputies later located surveillance video showing the white car traveling northbound on Sidney at 6:51 a.m. just before the incident.
Sidney from Lakeway Boulevard and the Port Orchard Airport was closed for approximately seven hours for a law enforcement investigation to take place.
Ali Rochelle Giannini is wanted for questioning concerning her role in a hit-and-run collision that killed South Kitsap resident Michael D. Keaton. (Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office courtesy photo)
Ali Rochelle Giannini is wanted for questioning concerning her role in a hit-and-run collision that killed South Kitsap resident Michael D. Keaton. (Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office courtesy photo)
A 2016 white Chevrolet Cruze was positively identified by Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office investigators as being involved in the fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a South Kitsap man July 14. (Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office courtesy photo)
