Man charged for killing father bicycling in Seattle

A Seattle man is charged with killing a Seattle father in a hit-and-run crash, and court records show he previously killed a woman in a similar manner.

Police said Kevin Wayne Brewer, 51, killed a father who was bicycling on First Avenue Northeast near Northgate Mall in September 2016. The victim, Derek Blaylock, suffered catastrophic injuries and died without regaining consciousness within an hour of being hit.

Blaylock dropped his son off at elementary school that morning, parked his car and biked to the bus. He was biking back to his car late that afternoon when police said Brewer ran his F-350 pickup truck to the top of a barrier before driving over Blaylock.

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“He told his insurance company that he never saw the bicyclist and denied even knowing that he struck anything or that his truck was damaged,” Detective Thomas Bacon wrote in a probable cause statement.

Brewer celebrated his 50th birthday the previous night and early morning before the crash, going to the Tulalip Casino and smoking marijuana about 3:30 a.m. after returning home.

Brewer told a witness he felt a thump underneath his truck and gave no explanation as to why he failed to see the bicyclist or that he drove into the barrier, police wrote. Investigators think he slept a few hours, if any, that morning, though Brewer claimed he had about 4 1/2 hours of sleep.

“Additionally, the defendant suffers from sleep apnea and was supposed to use a CPAP machine to sleep,” Bacon wrote. “He slept, if at all, for the few hours that morning. He is well aware that he is at grave risk for falling asleep while driving. In 1996, he blamed falling asleep while driving on causing over $7,000 worth of damage in a car crash.

“And seven years before this incident, the defendant blamed his sleep apnea for causing him to fall asleep when he struck a pedestrian and killed her. He also fled (from) that incident and was subsequently convicted of hit-and-run (death) in Snohomish County. Since that incident, he has been involved in a dozen car crashes that are consistent with drowsy driving.”

Brewer also has a history of theft, drug convictions, and other driving offenses.

No one was home when a KIRO 7 reporter went to Brewer’s residence near North Seattle College. Later a man came out and said he hasn't seen Brewer in a couple of weeks.

Brewer is expected to enter a plea on September 25.

Cox Media Group