EVERETT — Police say an Everett man was found with fentanyl after crashing into a pole Wednesday morning on Everett Mall Way, killing his passenger.
Everett police arrested Hunter Gidney, 25, for investigation of vehicular homicide. At his first court hearing Friday, Everett District Court Judge Tam Bui set bail at $100,000, at the request of prosecutors.
The deceased was publicly identified Friday as Drew Hallam, 32, of Everett.
An obituary published in The Daily Herald remembered Hallam as a Mount Vernon High School alum with “a passion for competition and adrenaline.” He loved sports and continued playing into adulthood with the Clean and Sober Softball Association.
Hallam instilled his love of sports in his son, Kieran, the obituary notes.
“Watching his son become as fierce a competitor as himself was the highlight of his life,” the obituary reads. “Drew loved his family deeply. He had a talent to leave an imprint on all he came across in life. He was also kind and generous to anyone he met. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for those he loved.”
Just after 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, Gidney was driving a Cadillac Escalade west on Everett Mall Way when he went into oncoming traffic, onto the curb and into a pole near the intersection with Evergreen Way, according to a police report. Hallam died at the scene.
When Everett police arrived, Gidney’s head was bleeding. He acknowledged to investigators he was driving the Escalade, according to court papers.
Gidney told police he hadn’t used drugs. He agreed to a field sobriety test. His pupils were pin-sized and had some redness, detectives reported, noting this was indicative of opioid use.
Given this, police arrested Gidney. While officers searched him, they found foil in his pockets and a makeshift pipe used for smoking fentanyl and heroin, according to police. Inside the tin foil , investigators reportedly found a white, powdery substance that appeared to be fentanyl.
Before going to the Snohomish County Jail, police took the suspect to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. A judge approved a search warrant for Gidney’s blood, so hospital took a sample there.
Gidney remained in jail Friday.
The crash closed traffic on Everett Mall Way for about four hours.
A service for Hallam will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Tulalip Gathering Hall at 7512 Totem Beach Road. Flowers can be sent there.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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